About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was
traveling down a Chicago neighbourhood street. He was going a bit too fast in
his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. 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 child darted out, but a brick sailed out and- WHUMP! -- it
smashed into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Brakes slammed!
Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from
where the brick had been thrown.
Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked
car. He shouted at the kid, "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 my
new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you
throw 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, mister," 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 young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly
swelling lump in his throat. Straining, 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 OK. He then watched the younger
brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, a
long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the
dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a
brick at him to get his attention...
..... Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at
/ to you. "It was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you
were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your
forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or
defect."
1 Peter 1:18-19
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to Tim Cove
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