Beginning with the end, this past weekend at the Murdock Vision and Call Retreat concluded with a session centered on the musical Hamilton, where we listened to songs and discussed the lyrics, unpacking phrases such as:

Will they know what you overcame?

Will they know you rewrote the game?

The world will never be the same

If you stand for nothing… what’ll you fall for?

I may not live to see our glory!

But I will gladly join the fight!

Look around, look around at how

Lucky we are to be alive right now!

I know that greatness lies in you

But remember from here on in

History has its eyes on you

Ultimately, the message was clear: we’ve been gifted with the tremendous privilege and responsibility of life in this moment, and the question at hand is, “What will you do with it?”

The third session, titled Vocational Discernment, looked at the word “calling” and the way that it has been used and misused throughout time and across societies. As Christians, we are in a unique position when it comes to our calling; it is not something we have to discern or discover. God has called every one of us to salvation and service, regardless of vocation.

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God… For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.” Ephesians 4:1, 4

Knowing our calling and the purpose of our lives, we were then challenged to discover a vocation that is worthy of our calling. The speaker explained that this lies in the “sweet spot” where God’s purposes, your design, and others’ needs align.

After discussing our calling, current internship positions, the missions of our organizations, and the challenges we anticipate in the coming months, I prayed with a group of three strangers, and my heart welled with overwhelming excitement and joy as I realized how connected I felt to these three people who I just met minutes before, as well as the 80-plus interns around the room. We were all there because we recognize God’s calling for our lives, and we so deeply long to discover vocations worthy of that calling.

Don’t get mad at the dark was the title of the fourth session, based on Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” The conclusion was that the darkness will always be dark, that is its nature. The question remains, “Are we being the light?”

Darkness is evident in our world. It stays cowardly hidden, but its presence is apparent in the suffering and devastation that surrounds us. This weekend, as I sat in a room full of young adults determined to be the light, the darkness seemed so small in contrast to the insurmountable hope I felt because of our collective passion for positive change, fueled by our calling.

Believe me, the future is as bright as a city on a hilltop.