Don't Go Through Life So Fast...

that someone has to throw a brick

at you to get your attention...........

I just love this story illustration - taken from a devotional by Mary Southerland - Girlfriends in God. You may have heard/read this before, but it is worth repeating!

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 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 God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man 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!"

Mary continues to write in her devotional these words below...take heart...be encouraged...be disciplined...

Let's face it. If we don't set priorities - others will. Time thieves will steal the hours and days as we allow them to impose their plans and demands on us. While it is true that different women have different priorities in different seasons of life, it is also true that one priority remains steadfast. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33 NIV). Once that priority is firmly established, the rest of life will simply fall into place.

Godly priorities embrace God's plan. I am convinced that much of our frustration comes from doing things we were never intended to do. We create the plan as we go instead of resting in the plan He has for us. Discipline guides each step and establishes a basis for obedience and success in ministry. I am, by no means, an expert in the area of discipline, but have made a new commitment to invest my time instead of just spending it.

Father, I am sorry for the time I wasted and spent on things that don't really matter. Please forgive me and help me to see every minute of every day as an eternal investment. I want my priorities to be Your priorities for my life and I want to guard those priorities through godly discipline. Today, I surrender the minutes and days of my life to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.