Community

"Yo, Annie if anyone messes witchu, we got yo' back." The words still resound in my head as I think about my years at Eastbrook. I was apart of every group, but this was from a group of great football players. They wanted me to know that no matter what, I always had someone who had my back. It did not matter that I was not a football player or a cheerleader, they had respect for me. This is what I had growing up. I had a group of people who surrounded me in the good times and the bad. When tragedy struck, they came around me and they lifted me up. They did not let me fall. No matter what it was, they came up around me.

This is what I grew up in. I grew up in community. The town of Upland has shown me what the real meaning of community is. I watched people come together the most in times that were needed the most. I saw people who you never thought would talk come alongside of each other. In times of pain and heartache, the whole town wept. In times of joy, the whole town rejoiced. This town is definitely a great example of community.

It is through this community that I learned what it meant to be in community and to be loyal. I learned that to really love others, you come alongside of them no matter what. I learned that because this is our town, I must always stick up for the people in it. Whenever people brought it down or dissed it, it was my job to stand up for it. This town has stood up for me before and has been here for me before and so I should repay the favor. Not because I feel the need to, but because that is just what community does.

Upland. Home Sweet Home.

Divison.

I had a few good friends growing up. Good is a way to describe the friendship, not the actual people. As a kid, I hung out with everyone that no one's parents would ever want them to hang out with. I hung out with those kids who caused trouble and raised hell. The ones that probably would be in jail by the time that they were juniors in high school...and that was mostly accurate.

Every day after school, I would go to the "bad" part of town. The side where most kids who grew up in "good Christian homes" were not allowed to go. But, my best friend, Reuben and I always went there. We were those kids. The ones that no one wanted there kids to hang out with, the BAs. We went over there because we weren't judged. The kids who I hung out with grew up in homes that sucked really and they had no reason to judge. They grew up in homes with fighting parents, drunken mothers, drugged up brothers, and abusive fathers. They've seen too much at such a young age...why judge?

And now here we are...years down the road and it all starts to make sense. So many people look at this town with a different pair of glasses than I do. I look at this town with eyes that saw pain and hurt growing up. I saw hopelessness and faithless people. I saw so much that so many do not see. I've seen best friends arrested, beat up, threatened. I've seen homelessness, poverty, and hunger.

How was I so blessed to see this town in this way? How was it that I got a glimpse of things that others who I went to school with never saw? The truth of the matter is that I went to the other side. I got away from "happy, spotless, Upland" and went to the real side of things. I went where people don't hide who they are because they don't care what people think. They are not going to hide themselves because they are not ashamed of it.

Upland, Indiana - Home Sweet Home

For twenty two years, I have called this place home. Upland, Indiana...a small town that might seem like Mayberry to some. In a sense, they are correct. I mean, it's very rare to walk into a place and not know anyone in there...at least by face. Kids start kindergarden and go throughout school with pretty much the same people...a few new faces here and there...a few leave...a few leave and come back...and then there are the few that dropout after their sophomore year and a few more who have kids and have no choice but to leave. When pain and sorrow hits, the community surrounds one another. And most people never leave...this is home and it always will be. It's a great town, why not raise a family here? Their family is here, their friends are here. There's no point to leave. It's home. This is Upland, this is my home.

Upland is great. I could not have asked for a better childhood or a better community. I had some rough times as a high school student and to be honest, without this community...I would have been nowhere. Sixth grade year, a boy in the high school died in a car crash. I remember riding the bus with him. I remember the day before seeing him. I remember mostly the community surrounding the family. The community surrounding the students. Freshman year - a friend of mine died in a car crash. The community came together. A girl's house burnt down sophomore year - the student body raised money to get her a gift card toward getting what she could replace. On a smaller scale, the way that students come together. Classes stick up for classes and love one another. It's a small community and people love each other. It's a beautiful community. This is Upland.

However, Upland is so much more than this.
Upland is not the happiest place on earth...obviously.
It has its rough spots.
People are broken.
People are hurting.

And this is why I have decided to write about my town.

Last night in class, David asked this question, "If Taylor left the community of Upland, would it be missed?" My Upland side of me was quick to respond with, "no, of course not." We are the body of Christ and we should be making an impact on this community. Day after day, I am dealing with things that students don't normally deal with from Taylor. They don't see the pain and the agony that this community goes through. They don't see the brokenness and the lifeless people who live here. They see the "happy, shiny, Taylor community." I know that I am being a bit of a broken record when I talk about this, but the truth of the matter is that I am hurting. I am in pain for this community. We, the people who do help out, cannot do this on our own. We, the ones who see it all, cannot hold these burdens on our shoulders. We, the people who are out there, in the battle, cannot fight this fight alone.

Parts of the Taylor community would be missed if we left Upland. The parts that would be missed are the ones who pour into the people of Upland. The parts who have put themselves out there on the front line. The parts that are not afraid of being hurt by the community, but are willing to take the pain. The parts who cry, who grieve, who laugh, and who love the community. These are the ones who would be missed. These are the ones that the community would take a great hit from. I see the impact that people have on this community. I see the people who come in and out. I see the ones who are missed and I see the ones who people say, "we're better off." In this past year, there have been three dear people to this community who have passed away. They were people who no one would expect from the outside to have such an impact, but people were impacted. They were blown away and their lives were changed by these three people. They weren't huge leaders in the community, but they were people who loved and cared for the people of the community. They were people who were in this community in different ways, but they loved above all. I see this and see how they impacted and wonder why we can't be the same way?

The truth is, that I am so passionate about my community. I am so in love with my community and the people in it. And at times I do want to go crazy because of it, but I love this community. I would not change growing up in it for the world. I have a passion for the broken people in our community and that is hard for me. It is hard because I see so much that could be done and see so much that we are not doing. We are not here to be superheroes by any means, but is it that hard to really love? We are so blessed. We have so much going for us. Our campus has the Holy Spirit working in it day after day. With that, there is nothing that is impossible. All excuses that can be had can be thrown out with the Trinity on our side. We have a Savior that has shown us how to live. A savior that has shown us how to love. A savior that has shown us where our treasure should lie. We have a Spirit that will guide us. A Spirit that will direct us and push us. A Spirit that will give us discernment and wisdom. We have a God that is stronger than anything else. Stronger than the lies of Satan. Stronger than the battles of this world. A God that is everywhere. A God that never leaves our side and is bigger than anything that might come in our way. That pretty much covers up all the bases of excuses. So, why aren't we doing more? We are capable