Will you be missed?

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.