The Mark of the Brick
What has to happen in order for us to finally pay attention?
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He had been driving for years and feel extremely confident as he zipped through the narrow streets, his foot permanently hitting the accelerator. All of a sudden he heard something shatter. It felt like it was his car. He screeched to a halt and jumped out to evaluate the damage. To his horror he saw that a brick had smashed into the Jag's side door.
The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What is this all about? Who do you think you are? You want to try explain to me what you're thinking? That's thousands of of dollars worth of damage!!!"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister... please, I'm so sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because nobody else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the boy pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "Its 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 handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be alright.
"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 towards their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. Despite the damage being very noticeable, the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept it 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.