The Chosen Ones

What does God want me to do? It’s the question asked over and over again by my twenty-something friends. Early adulthood is a confusing time, where every possibility feels available in an overwhelming way. Each choice forges a new path—a different relationship, a different city, a different career. We’re paralyzed by the freedom of movement. I can do anything—but what do I want?

It’s no wonder that that thought creeps into our relationship with God. What is God calling me to do? We wait for the answer, the right vocation, the right ministry. We wait and don’t get much done in the meantime. “What does God want me to do?” we ask, in order to sound pious while not having to actually do anything.

Our generation was raised being told we were special and we could be anything we wanted. We read stories of heroes’ journeys—the chosen one fulfilling their destiny. And it’s disappointing to reach adulthood in a recession and learn you aren’t special, you can’t be anything you want, and heroes’ destinies belong in children’s books.

Still, we’re told God has a plan for us. So we await our special orders—our soulmate, our mission, our burning bush. But few receive divine revelations. The rest have sort it out themselves. I’m not saying God doesn’t have plans for us. We were made for a purpose—to glorify Him. There are things that we most certainly should not do. But we have also been given the freedom to please him in a lot of ways in varied paths. Maybe a woman joins a religious order and administers medicine to the elderly poor every day. Or maybe she gets married, has four kids, and works as an accountant. Both choices could offer her the peace she seeks. Once she takes her vows –religious or marital—she is committing to that vocation. And God will meet her there.

I think a lot of people in my generation have a fear of commitment—fear of making the wrong choice, fear of missing out on an opportunity, fear of a better option. We want the perfect career, the perfect partner, the perfect mission, the perfect purpose. We want perfection in an imperfect world.

God just wants us to make a decision. Decide to follow him. Commit to growing in holiness. Now. Not after you make that move or get that job or find that spouse. Start now. Be a lost, lonely, twenty-something who tries to please God every day. Let your small, inconsequential interactions change your soul, even if they won’t change your world.   

What does God want me to do? Love Him. The rest will fall into place.