"The Brick"
A young and successful executive was travelling 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 drove 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... 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 his fancy 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 shaken up for words, the man simply watched the
little 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.