Parable
of the Reckless Kid
1. And the
wind howled as the cold front moved into Eastern Montana.
2. And as
Johnny was getting ready to leave for the night, the mercury dropped to -40
degrees.
3. And his
father warned him to stay home, but Johnny wouldn’t listen.
4. And when
Johnny’s pickup wouldn’t start, he felt like it was portending something worse.
And Johnny’s
nervous feelings grew stronger as he drove farther from the safety of his warm
house.
And he
realized that the road was getting slick, but he didn’t want to use his
four-wheel drive.
And the wind
kept blowing loose snow across the road.
And the
paucity of snowdrifts was gone when he decided he needed to engage his front
wheels.
And Johnny
looked down to find the four-wheel drive stick.
And when Johnny
did this, his front wheels were caught by a snowdrift and his pickup was
suddenly jerked into the ditch.
After the
violent wreck, Johnny crawled out unharmed.
And he was
left with no choice but to walk home in the cold.
And as he was
walking, the moisture from the snow melting on him saturated his clothes and
froze them.
And after a
short time, all the feeling in Johnny’s body was gone.
Just as he
was about to give up, he saw headlights coming down the road.
And when he
saw the vehicle stop to help, he realized he was saved.
And when
Johnny arrived home, he was ashamed for not listening to his dad.
And Johnny
could tell by his dad’s expression that he was worried about his son.
And at first
he was concerned but after Johnny warmed up, the lecturing began.
And this
time, and every other time after, Johnny listened and obeyed his dad.
The accident
never left Johnny’s memory and from that point on, he respected those that were
more experienced.
