We All Need A Dent in Our Car

Photo Credit: Cookaa via Wikimedia

I was reading a story by a friend of mine at “Pastor Mike Says” the other day which really made me realize that not all things happen for reasons that we think. Sometimes things may occur to us that seem to have a definite clear-cut reason as to why it happened but actually, it took place for a completely different reason from what we thought.

How many times in our lives to we react and / or jump to a conclusion before we know the real reason something happened. The following true story is a great illustration about jumping to conclusions and dealing with the “bricks” that occasionally may come into our lives.

About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was driving down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going way fast in his slick, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids running 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! BRAKES SCREECHED!!!!

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 do you think you are doing?!” Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is going to 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 businessman, “Would you please help me by getting him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the young businessman 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, checked to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched, as 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 dented 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. Prepare yourself for the bricks of life that are coming at you and THINK before you REACT.