Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT).

One woman was having a hernia procedure done as an outpatient. First her case was delayed by three hours because someone needed an emergency kidney operation, but instead of stewing and worrying, she was mildly amused by the type A surgeon who was miffed because another surgeon had power-played him out of "his" surgery slot. Then, the nurse pushing her to surgery paused to scan a job vacancy notice on the bulletin board, and referred to the woman as an "it" as she lay there vulnerable on the gurney. Finally the anesthesiologist was getting ready to put her under when his cell phone rang and he left the surgery suite. I'm not picking on medical people. This true story could have happened in any workplace with different specifics.  But this patient, instead of demanding her rights as a customer or privately fuming, laughed it off. She was just ecstatic when she woke up because they were able to do the procedure by arthroscopy instead of surgery saving her weeks of recovery and therapy (from Jean Marie Laskas' Nov. 9, 2003 Washington Post Magazine column). What kind of woman can look at all these frustrating experiences and be so laid back? She probably has a super type B personality.

I was thinking one day about how essential it is to have variety in this world. If everyone was a type A personality-high strung, over-achieving, competitive, barely knows how to relax, aggressive, clock watcher-what an anxious world this would be. On the other hand, if everyone was type B-laid back, leaving important things to chance, uncompetitive, chronically late, and a doormat, that's not good either.

Are you one of those persons who have to have everything figured out ahead of time, and know how and when something is going to happen? Or are you one who is satisfied to have a general idea of plan, leaving things to chance and opportunity, feeling that stuff usually works out in the end. Why borrow trouble? You are relaxed, uncompetitive, and maybe inclined to introspection and self-analysis. This kind of person does well at taking the heat-because they refuse to allow heat to make them hot. On the other hand, what would we do without the extreme type A's-creative achievers who get a lot done and make sure others do their jobs right and on time. They ask the who, what, when and where questions-and worry less about pondering the eternal whys.

We are all different, but all essential. Celebrate who you are under God’s gifts. Be patient with those who are different. Work together at your job, in your church, at home and see the difference it will make in how good you feel as well as how much you get accomplished!