One day a successful executive was cruising down a neighborhood street in his new Jaguar when suddenly a brick flew out from between two parked cars and smashed right into the side of his door. Startled and confused by what just happened, he swerved to the side of the road, slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car, and ran to where the brick seemed to come from. When he got there, he saw a young boy standing there and he began yelling at the boy, “Why did you throw that brick? What were you thinking? Are you going to pay for the damage you did?”
The boy replied very apologetically, “Please mister, please. I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do. 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 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. He then took 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!”
The above story is by an unknown author and yet it has a profound message. So often in life we are so busy that we don’t pay attention to what is happening all around us, especially to the cries from those who are hurting or in need. The parable of the Good Samaritan also illustrates that message clearly.
May we all endeavour to be attentive and responsive to everyone we encounter on the roads we travel.
Justin DeMoor
M.Ed, B.Ed, B.A., OCT, CSPC, CSTC
Principal