i want to do something great.

that was the tweet that i sent out last night before i went to bed. it was vague and random and completely out of left field but it’s what i was thinking. it was just a simple tweet but it was also more than that. it was a straight up plea to god: i want to do something great.

right now i am an intern in a church. i’m basically the lowest on the totem pole in terms of church staff members. after being an intern for a month i’ve learned that as an intern you rarely know what’s going on and often do the things that the full-time staff doesn’t want to do or doesn’t have the time to do. i’ve also learned that to ever have lunch with a staff member, it much be approved by congress two weeks in advance but that’s a completely different topic. there are three things you get good at quickly when you’re the intern: stacking and moving chairs, carrying heavy things, and saying, “i don’t know, you’ll have to ask _____.”

none of that sounds, or feels, anywhere close to great.

i look around at some of the other people that are my age and are in the same “field” as me and i see what they’re doing and i get a little jealous. yes, i know that’s not right and isn’t the reaction that i’m supposed to have but it’s the truth. i see this guy that i graduated leading a church plant that seems to be pretty successful. i see another guy leading a student ministry. i see them all doing these great things.

and i’m the intern.

now, before i go any further, let me make one thing clear: i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where i’m supposed to be. i know i’m supposed to be working in this town and in this church. i know i’m supposed to be the intern.

i’m just not 100% sure why.

i know i need the experience. i know there are things that i need to learn (like not to use the word douchebag when joking with a student – yes, i should know that already. it slipped.). i know all of these things.

but i still want more.

i want more than the intern.

i want more than buying groceries for our full-time student pastors.

i want more than moving chairs and setting up.

i want something great.

i realize that a lot of the people reading this are in the same boat as me. you’re a recent college graduate and you’re trying so hard to get started in your career. or maybe you’re still in high school or college and fighting through the papers and exams and trying to figure out what the heck to do with your life. chances are you feel a lot like what i’m describing in this. you feel like you’re just doing stupid mundane things that have no meaning. you feel like you’re running in place.

you feel like you’re nowhere near anything great.

i feel the same way but i’ve got to think that feeling is wrong. i’ve got to think that we’re just getting ready for the greatness. our generation has so much potential and so many abilities that we really can do something great. we’re just so used to getting what we want in five seconds and two clicks of the mouse that the waiting and the preparations that we have to go through seem that much worse.

i still want to do something great. i want it more than anything else. as much as i don’t like waiting, i’m willing to wait on it. i’m willing to go through the crappy experiences and do the seemingly meaningless tasks if it means that i’m one step closer to whatever great thing it is god has planned.

i may not like waiting, but if i go against god’s timing i will fail.

and failure isn’t an option.

one day we’ll do something great. that day just might not be today.

say your prayers and take your vitamins.

have a nice day.

-jonathan