Carson Ben - Gifted hands: the Ben Carson story

ZONDERVAN

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

2009 by Gregg Lewis and Deborah Shaw Lewis

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ePub Edition December 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-40917-5

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Applied for

ISBN 978-0-310-71903-8

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Interior design: Beth Shagene

Table of Contents

For a long time, Ben had sensed that something was wrong. He had not heard his parents scream or shout at one another for days. He seldom even heard them argue. Instead they would just quit talking to each other until the whole house filled with a deep and disturbing quiet. Those silences gradually became longer and much more frequent. His father seemed to be gone more and more.

Yet Ben was still surprised by his mothers announcement.

It started like any other day for eight-year-old Ben Carson and his ten-year-old brother, Curtis. But it turned unforgettably sad when their mother sat them down and announced, Boys, your father has moved out of this house. Hes not going to be living with us anymore.

I dont want him to leave! Ben cried. Please make him come back!

But his mother shook her head. Bennie, your father cant come back.

Why not? Ben wanted to know.

Hes done some... some bad things. And that was as much as she would tell Ben and Curtis.

Ben argued with his mother. If Daddy did something wrong, why cant you just forgive him and let him come home?

Its not that simple, she replied, looking like she was about to cry.

Ben wondered if hed done something to make his father angry. But Bens mother assured him that his daddy loved him very much and was not mad at him at all. Still, it hurt.

Bens heart was broken. He loved his daddy. Every night he prayed for his father to come home so their family could be together again. But that never happened.

When he left, Bens father took all of the familys money, including the nest egg Bens mother had managed to store up by scrimping and saving over the years. Mrs. Carson had no job skills or work experience, so the only way she could support herself and her two sons was by cleaning houses and taking care of other peoples children. It was hard work, but she was determined to do whatever it took to provide for her boys.

Even after he learned the truth, Ben continued to love his father in spite of what he had done. But Ben loved and respected his mother even more. He knew how hard she worked to take care of him and Curtis, and how much his fathers actions had hurt his mother.

Sonya Carson, Bens mother, had been born into a large and extremely poor rural Tennessee family. She was the next to the youngest of twenty-four children. Yet she only knew thirteen of her siblings because she spent most of her lonely and unhappy childhood moving from one foster home to another.

She had been just thirteen years old when she met and married Bens father, an older man who promised to rescue her from her sad situation and take her north to Detroit. He promised to provide her with a life of wealth and adventure. Bens father was a charming man and a good provider. He loved parties and seemed proud of his young wife. He often bought Bens mother expensive gifts of clothing and jewelry. Bens father seemed to spend money as fast as he earned it. Over time, Bens mother became concerned about their finances.

After the boys were born, Bens mother wondered where her husband was getting his extra money. She worried that he might be involved in selling alcohol or even drugs.

She finally found out that he had another wife and family, and Sonya told him to leave.

Ben found it tough to give up his hopes for a happy home where his family could all live together again. But the same year his father left, a new dream entered Bens life.

Bens dream was born one Sunday morning during church. Ben sat on the edge of the pew, listening intently, as their minister told an exciting true story about a missionary doctor.

Robbers were chasing the doctor and his wife, the minister told them. They ran as fast as they could around trees and over rocks, trying to stay ahead of their pursuers. Then they came to the edge of a cliff. They had nowhere to go. But, right at the very brink of the precipice, they spotted a crack in the rock just big enough for both of them to crawl into.

When the bandits got to the cliff, their would-be victims were nowhere to be seen. It was as if the doctor and his wife had vanished! The robbers didnt know what to think. They stomped around, cursing, then left. The missionaries were safe.

As the story ended, Ben breathed a sigh of relief. What a thrilling life missionaries must lead!

God hid his missionaries in the cleft of the rock, the pastor explained. And he will do the same for you if you give him your heart and let him protect you from harm.

Thats what I need, thought Ben. So when the preacher invited those who wanted to give their lives to Jesus to come forward, Ben walked down the aisle to where the minister was standing. After listening to that exciting story, Ben knew two things: he wanted Jesus to watch over him, and he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

I know what I will be when I grow up, Ben told his mother as they walked home from church that day, a missionary doctor!

His mother stopped to look right at him. Bennie, she said, if you ask the Lord for something and believe he will do it, it will happen.

His mothers encouraging response confirmed the dream for him. From that time on, Ben was convinced that God wanted him to be a doctor one day. Somehow he held on to that dream despite many other difficult things that would happen in his young life.

* * *

Since Bens father was no longer providing any money, Sonya had to work longer and longer hours, holding two or three jobs at a time. Many mornings she left before dawn and wouldnt get home until her sons were already asleep. Sometimes two or three days would go by without Ben or Curtis even seeing their mother.