“Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!”
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street,
going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out
from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As
his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s
side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the
brick had been thrown.
The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and
pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who
are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you
threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”
The young boy was apologetic.
“Please, mister… please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,” He
pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop… ” With tears
dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just
around a parked car.
“It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his
wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now
sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him
back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump
in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the
wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes
and cuts.
A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his
wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow
walk back to the Jaguar.
The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the
dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message.
“Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get
your attention!” God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes
when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It’s our
choice to listen or not.
