Maintenance… I’ll be honest, I’m not the best at doing it. I am pretty good with changing the oil in my vehicles, but some of the other maintenance like rotating tires, flushing the cooling system, changing windshield wipers periodically…those kinds of things I’m not so good with.
Then there’s the house maintenance. This past summer I took a couple of extra weeks off to recoup from the very full year I had while I was involved with the Practical Church Leadership program…along with being a full-time pastor, etc. Anyway, I had a list of home maintenance projects that I wanted to accomplish during that time off. I think I got one, maybe two items from my list cared for…and those two weren’t really the biggies that I had hoped to cross off the list. I guess it’s always good to have some projects on a list just in case some day I find myself bored and don’t know what to do with myself. 😊
The reason maintenance is so important is because that is what keeps the car or the house in tip-top shape, functioning at its best, and keeping its greatest value. If you don’t check the air pressure in the tires, they can get low, and that can ruin a tire, which can be rather costly to replace. If shingles blow off your house and the repair isn’t made, moisture can find its way into the roof and house, which can cause serious problems. Yet, it is so easy to ignore maintenance because as they say, out of sight – out of mind.
It's easy to think about maintenance in regard to vehicles we drive or the home we live in, but there are other crucial areas in life where maintenance is just as important as it is for a house and car. Two such areas are in one’s marriage (and other significant relationships), and also one’s faith.
Just like a car or a house, a marriage or one’s faith journey won’t stay strong on its own. They require regular, intentional attention. A healthy marriage doesn’t just happen on the day of the wedding; it grows through little acts of kindness, listening, forgiveness, and shared experiences. Faith is the same way—it can’t be sustained only by an occasional Sunday service or a once-in-a-while prayer. It needs daily “check-ins” with God, time reading and reflecting on passages from the bible, taking time to serve and make the world a better place, and other rhythms and disciplines that keep our hearts turned to God and tuned in to God’s values.
The truth is that maintenance usually isn’t glamorous. It rarely gives you an immediate thrill or a big “wow” moment. But over time, it’s what makes the difference between something that breaks down and something that endures. It was regular maintenance that allowed my previous car to reach over 200,000 miles of my driving, and it was still going strong when the family I sold it to sold it to someone else.
So maybe the best way to think about maintenance is this: it’s the small, steady practices that keep the most important parts of life from falling apart. Whether it’s tightening a loose bolt, taking time to connect with your spouse, or pausing to pray or serve those in need, the little things add up to a life that’s strong, healthy, and ready for the road ahead. Just recently I saw this five word quote I really like and it speaks much truth – “What you maintain will remain.” Now let’s get out there and take care of some maintenance today!!
Pastor Keith