From an Air Force article entitled “Guided by faith, driven by a calling to serve,” about retiring SMSgt Doug Widener, Air Force pararescueman:

From the mountains of Afghanistan, to the mountains of Alaska, the meaning of his life was measured in his work – work that he felt was his purpose in life, guided always by his faith in the Lord.

“In my experience, God gave me these abilities,” he said somberly. “I’ve had immense peace with knowing that I’m doing what he designed me to do. How do you deal with the more unpleasant or ugly side of what we get to see; how do you carry that weight and not let the horrible things that you endure and not let it permeate in your life? It’s my trust in the Lord. And knowing him, I don’t have any fear. It’s not living your life with reckless abandon; it’s a knowing that because you have purpose, you live your life with an open hand, instead of living dominated by fear and what could happen, and instead, trying to live each day to the fullest.”

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