Tape.

I recently pulled into a grocery store parking lot when I noticed a certain car that, to say it nicely, needed some serious love. This car was definitely in a bad way. Clearly, it had been in an accident (or a mass series of accidents). Its driver was either extremely vehicularly challenged, or just really, really unlucky. If it had a brand name, it would be the Subaru Haphazard.

Almost the entire car was held together in some way by fraying bungee cords or tape that was covered in dirt and peeling away. The front bumper was loosely held on with bungee cords. The manufacturer’s emblem was barely held firm by clear packaging tape, as were the fender, the driver’s and passenger’s mirrors, the door trim, a window, and the rear bumper. I wondered what was MacGyvered on the inside. Was the engine held together with rubber bands and zip ties? While this poor car’s appearance was almost comical (I think I did give out a bit of a shocked chuckle and an, “Oh, wow.”), when I gave it more thought, it was actually kind of sad—but in a different way.

It was obvious that these were not recent “fixes” but instead had been there for quite some time. Whenever something went awry (which could have been weekly from the look of things), the driver did what he/she could in the moment as a temporary fix—a stopgap—until proper repairs could be made. For this person, that time apparently never came. And it made me realize…I know people who are just like that car—patched together with peeling tape and old bungee cords. I even have parts of me that are barely hanging on and have yet to be put right.

The comings and goings of daily life can delay our best-laid plans; accidents and disasters can happen when least expected, sometimes in quick succession or all at once. While we do our best to patch ourselves up from an emotional pileup, a missed turn, or a relational smashup, it’s all too easy to leave our quick-fixes as they are without really repairing the damage or restoring things to where they once were. But leaving ourselves in that state of disrepair is dangerous.

Because the repairs had gone undone, that car’s perceived value had diminished. It wasn’t attractive. It wasn’t as it was intended to be. It was broken, beaten up, and in need of attention. The owner’s neglect was starkly apparent to everyone who happened to take notice.

Don’t leave things undone. If you have a problem (emotional, relational, spiritual, physical) that needs immediate attention, do what you can to patch it up, to plug the leak, to keep it running. But don’t stop there. Get it to the repair shop. Get it put right. Likewise, if you have a dream, a goal, or an aspiration that you’ve begun to pursue but have let go cold because of whatever detour came your way, get it back into your workshop and see it come to fruition.

Don’t settle for bungee cords and dirty tape. And if you know of someone whose life is in a similar way as this, and if you have the means to help, help. Maybe they don’t have the energy, the motivation, the knowledge, or the means to do it on their own. Chances are, you or someone you know can give a helping hand or heart—or both. Even if there are multiple things that need fixed, it just takes one repair at a time to get closer to restoration.