A couple of weeks ago, if you saw a gray pickup heading out of town toward Highway 152, loaded down with furniture and looking more like a U-Haul truck than a pickup, that was me.
Like all parents of college-age children, it’s that time of year when we send our kids back to school.
That means, in the name of higher education and familial love, I pretended to be a professional mover, driving thousands of miles to carefully haul Ikea furniture, plastic tubs, plants and boxes of shoes, while carefully navigating stairwells to dorm rooms and apartments.
This year, I had the privilege of taking three kids to college. My weeks (yes, it took two weeks to move them all!) weren’t measured in days; they were measured in odometer readings, fast-food hamburgers and goodbyes.
The first to head back to school was child No. 2, whom I delivered to Long Beach. After a five-plus hour drive, I wasn’t eager to unload right away, but like an angel from heaven, one of my daughter’s former classmates from Gilroy High was in Long Beach for school too. He showed up and provided all the muscle for the move. Praise God there was someone from Gilroy she could call on for help!
After a long, lonely drive back from Long Beach, child No. 3 was already eager for his turn, and he packed my pickup once again. Two days later, his mother and I were on our way to the hub of good taste, high fashion and luxury (just kidding!); we were headed to Fresno.
With a new Bulldog in tow and the temperature already in the high 90s, we checked him into his dorm, where we promptly met up with his roommate, one of his best friends from Gilroy High. After giving our son plenty of warnings to do his homework, get a job and generally behave himself, his mother and I left Fresno, again grateful to be leaving our son with a friend from home.
Just a few days later, it was child No. 1’s turn. This time, we loaded up her car and headed out to Buffalo, NY. Over six days and 3,100 miles, we narrowly avoided a speeding ticket in Nevada, visited two national parks, grabbed In-N-Out in Utah and passed through Toronto.
But when we arrived in Buffalo, a thoughtful and kind friend from Gilroy had already sent my daughter gift cards to local restaurants, shops and other fun places to explore. That unexpected gesture helped her feel welcome and at home before we had even unpacked the car.
The Bible speaks of unity in several verses: 1 Corinthians 1:10, 1 Peter 3:8, Philippians 2:2, and Colossians 3:14, among many others. Simply put, God wants us to live in unity with one another.
Almost 20 years ago, when my family moved to Gilroy knowing almost no one, we found unity in our church, a place that practiced extravagant community. Since then, many people in Gilroy have shared their homes with us, their meals with us and their worship with us.
In the years since, as our family grew, both in size and in experience, our faith community has expanded into so many of Gilroy’s other communities: parent clubs, school committees, Chamber gatherings, Rotary meetings, Gilroy Gators swim meets, high school water polo games, long Garlic Festival weekends and so many more.
As I flew home from Buffalo, I thought about how, no matter where life takes my children, they will never truly be alone. In so many ways, Gilroy will always go with them. What began years ago as our response to simply following God’s call to live in unity has blossomed into a lasting community of love, friendship and support.
Until now, I never quite realized that as my wife and I built our family’s community, each of our kids have built their own communities. Over the years, those communities were shaped not only by our church, but by all the people of Gilroy we’ve shared fellowship, service and friendship with along the way.
As the plane landed in San Jose, I found myself thinking I could fill a whole newspaper with the names of the people in Gilroy who have become family to us. I walked off the plane with a profound sense of gratitude for Gilroy and South County. After all, all of you reading this article and many more, have each helped put the unity in my community.
Trevor Van Laar is a Pastor at Gilroy & San Martin Presbyterian Churches. He is a member of the Interfaith Clergy Alliance and can be reached at tr****@********es.org.
