Needed Repairs and Maintenance
I
drove by a place I have passed almost daily for many years now, but which I have often failed to pay
attention to. But this morning as
I drove by, it caught my eye, and some simple yet profound thoughts came to me,
so I stopped to take some pictures and share them for what they are worth.
Some
beautiful apartments were under construction during the building boom of 2008,
when while only partially completed, the bottom fell out of the financial world
and resources apparently came to a crashing end, leaving this once potentially
attractive and financially productive venture incomplete. Unable
to sustain the project through to completion, the structures have now sat incomplete for the past nine years, with nothing but the wearing forces of weather,
migrating birds, and scavenging varmints paying them much attention. What has happened is rather sad to behold.
The
once sturdy frames and walls now provide only sagging support.
The
once dreamed of furnished interiors sit hollow and filled with debris.
The
views which once may have looked upon manicured lawns and flower beds now
behold wanting scenes of overgrown weeds which choke the grounds of color and
vitality.
As
sad as the apparent loss of financial investment and property values, what
struck me was how these grounds mirror the souls of many individuals who walk
among us and with whom we rub shoulders with in our daily lives. They may be hollow, incomplete and suffering in silence.
Often, as I do driving by these buildings each day, we hardly
tend to cast a glance in their direction or notice their needs. Instead we often look away to avoid what may
otherwise be uncomfortable encounters outside of our structured lives and
activities.
What
also dawns upon me is the realization that each and every one of us likely have
places in our souls which we have neglected or ignored and which, without the
needed attention, have fallen into disrepair and states of decay. We may want to ignore those darker recesses
within ourselves, or in society around us, but the simple fact is this – Unless
we put effort into regular maintenance and repair, all things decay and degrade
as a natural result.
We
cannot ignore the problems and degrading forces at work in our own lives or in
society around us and expect them to somehow get better on their own. The forces of nature, both physically and
spiritually don’t work that way. Things
uncared for will ALWAYS progress from a state of organization into a state of
chaos and decline.
You can
have a beautifully painted house, but if the interior walls are infested with mice and it doesn’t have functional plumbing or electricity, then it is pretty
hard to live in with any measure of comfort or safety.
We often tend to ignore or neglect the “weightier
matters” in our lives or the deeper spiritual areas of decay we suffer from. Perhaps addressing those areas of need
pulls us too far out of our comfort zone and will require significant effort to
repair and upgrade and we just don’t feel we have the spiritual energy or
resources to do it after the daily battles we fight.
The first reality of the situation is, that in order to improve and progress, we must focus the needed energy and resources into those areas of decay to bring them
into repair. The other reality is, is that it
is very difficult to help fill others needs if we are hollow and lacking in our
own interior design. The good news is we
don’t have to do it alone, and it is totally worth the effort and investment!
If
we are willing to call upon other experts with the knowledge and skills to help
us make those repairs properly, or at least teach us how to make those
adjustments and repairs more efficiently, then the process can be much
easier. Family, friends, spiritual
advisors and leaders can all help provide needed encouragement and suggestions
to begin to overhaul, de-junk and commence the renovations we need.
And
if we really want to get serious about making complete interior and exterior
designs to bring us up to our full potential and value, then we need to call in
the Master Repairman, the Lord Himself. He
is truly the only one that can help us make more than just cosmetic improvements. He has the skills, love, understanding and
complete devotion and willingness to not just make a few repairs, but tear down
the dilapidated parts of our souls and completely reconstruct them into
something far grander and of greater worth than we can imagine.
C.S. Lewis put it very well when he said,
If
we can but open ourselves to Him, He will not only surgically cut out and
remove those infected and infested parts of our souls, but will replace the
worn out parts with major upgrades far beyond our expectations. And a remarkable thing happens. Along with those improvements He makes within
ourselves, we begin to see how to help others and aspects of society around us
with more clarity.
So
let us not ignore the aspects of our lives which need the closest attention,
but instead open and embrace the necessary upgrades and all the comforts and
benefits they have to offer. It will
perhaps be the greatest investment of time and energy that we can make.