THE  BRICK

Tommy O’Hair

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.