Look at your hands. What do you see? Do you see slim and slender
fingers, ideal for playing the piano? Or do you see thick skinned, and
calloused hands that have been exposed to many an hour of physical
labour. Has the Lord blessed you with gifted hands? Do you have the
talent to perform long, exhausting and delicate brain surgery?
With that thought in mind, could you imagine a young boy from
inner-city Detroit deciding that when he grew up, he was going to
become a doctor? Often the dreams of young boys do not eventuate. A boy
may want to become a doctor but his life is guided differently than he
would expect. But this one did - and not just any doctor. He became one
of the world’s most renowned neurosurgeons. He used the gift of
his hands and mind to save hundreds of lives, even when most other
doctors and surgeons had given up on the patient. The boy’s name
is Ben Carson. You can read his story in Gifted Hands.
In his book, Ben tells of the hardships he faced as a child - the
teasing through his primary education and his wild temper which led to
things he would much rather forget. There is one thing that is very
notable about this young boy – his mother. As a student, perhaps
you disliked doing homework, even when you mother told you to. Can you
imaging your mother giving you extra homework? She would require you to
go to the library and pick two books to read within the week. Then once
you’ve read them, you can give your mother a report on what they
are about! To make time for reading those books you are only allowed to
watch three television programs a week.
To imagine your mother giving you extra homework may be difficult for
some, but Ben soon realised that this extra homework was for his own
good. His grades increased so dramatically that he no longer was
‘the dumb kid’ but the top of the class!
To think that we are ‘the dumb kid’ is wrong. We have been
given special talents by God. Sometimes we just have to look a little
harder to find them. In the short term, these extra homework exercises
may have seemed pointless to Ben but in the long term it brought him a
wealth of good. Maybe we can apply this to our own lives too...
Ben was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church. He lived under
the belief ‘that if you ask God for something, believing that He
will give it, He will give it’. While this statement is correct
in a sense, we have to remember that we will only receive it if God
decides that we do need it and that it coincides with His plan. It is
noted that in Gifted Hands Ben does not fully acknowledge God’s
Plan for us, as he states after the death of one of his patients
‘that her death remains a mystery’. We know that no matter
what man can do, it is all futile unless God decides to bless the work
of men and women like Ben Carson.
Ben’s story is remarkable, filled with interesting twists and
turns. He tells and explains all that shaped him as a man - his
childhood, his school years, his teenage years, his young adult years,
his romance, his education and his career. While all these things
shaped him, elevating him to where he is today, he acknowledges God for
the gifts of determination and gifted hands.
Let’s learn from this and be thankful for what God has given us
now. When we receive status and wealth within the world, we have to be
careful that it doesn’t corrupt us. Pray the Lord that he will
continue to keep each of us eternally thankful...
Review by E. Visser
