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.
