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 spun the Jag back to the spot from
where the brick had been thrown. He jumped out of the car, grabbed some
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?!" Building
up
a head of steam, he went on. "That's a new car and that brick you
threw
is gonna cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?!"
"Please, mister, please, I'm sorry - I didn't know what else to do!"
pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would
stop......." Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed
around the 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." Sobbing, the boy asked the 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
lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief
and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going
to be okay.
"Thank you, sir.
And God bless you," the grateful child said to him.
The man then watched the little boy push his brother down the sidewalk
toward their home. It was a long walk back to his Jaguar... a long, slow
walk. He never did repair the side door. He kept the dent to remind him
not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you
to get your attention.
Life whispers in your soul and speaks to your heart. Sometimes, when
you don't have the time to listen... Life throws a brick at your head.
It's
your choice: Listen to the whispers of your soul or wait for the brick.