Young Ben was only eight years old when his parents divorced. Ben was crushed because he loved his father very much, but his father had left the family. Ben now lived with his mother and his brother. Life was not easy as Ben’s mother now had to work long hours to support the family. Her husband gave her very little child support, although he was supposed to.
It was around this time that Ben had decided he wanted to be a doctor. However, the divorce had affected Ben’s grades at school. He was not doing so well, and he found himself labelled as the “class dummy.” And the other children ridiculed him all the time. He was ready to give up his dream, but his mother told him, “Ben you were not born to be a failure, you can do it.”
Not long after, his mother met a nice missionary couple who invited her to church. She took her boys and began to keep the Sabbath with them. She had found hope and strength in serving the Lord. Ben was baptized not long after.
Ben became discouraged at the thought that he would never reach his dream of becoming a doctor. He studied hard and managed to pass his classes. He got a D in his math class and was proud of himself. However, his mother stated that she believed he could do better. “You can do it. You just have to put your mind to it.”
Mother made sure to encourage the boys in their spiritual life also, and to ask help from Jesus for all their studies. “If you ask the Lord for something and believe He will do it, then it will happen,” stated Mother. She sought many ways to help and encourage her boys to do the best that they could.
Even though his grades were improving, one day mother came home from work and the boys were watching TV. Mother came over and turned the TV off, and stated she would limit their TV watching. She took them to the library and told them they had to take out two non-fiction books a week and read them and give her a report at the end of the week.
Although Ben now was nearly at the top of his class, he still faced challenges. As he entered Junior High School, he found himself to be one of the few black students in a predominantly white area of town. There was much prejudice against him and the other black students. Ben still tried to focus on his studies, but it was not easy. One day as he took a short cut to school, he met a group of young white boys and they surrounded him and beat him. As Ben managed to flee, they called out after him. “Kids like you are not supposed to be in Wilson Junior High. If we catch you again, we will kill you.” Ben ran the rest of the way to school. He just prayed and thankfully he never met those young boys again.
At the end of each school year, the teachers handed out certificates for the best students in each grade. Ben won the award in grade seven. And then again in grade eight. The teacher was not too happy at giving Ben the award in grade eight. After handing him the award, she turned to the assembly full of mostly white students, and reprimanded them for not trying hard enough and allowing Ben to be the number one student. She did not feel it right for the black student to be number one in a classroom of white students.
Even with all this opposition and prejudice, Ben did not give up. When he was discouraged, his mother encouraged him to find his help in Jesus.
As a teenager, in high school, Ben really wanted to fit in and be a part of the in-crowd. He was not very kind to his mother, who was struggling to work and pay their bills, and he relentlessly hounded her to buy him the best clothing possible so he could fit in with his peers.
Through peer pressure also, he began to go to parties with his friends and stay out late. He ignored his mother’s pleadings for him to remain faithful. When he would stay out late, his mother was very disappointed. “Ben can’t you see what you are doing to yourself?” She sighed. “It’s more than just disappointing me. You’ve worked hard. Don’t lose all of that now.”
Ben’s grades dropped. He went from the top of the class to being a C student. But he did not care because he was one of the boys. He was having more fun than he ever had in his life. Yet, somehow, he was not very happy. Getting into the in-group only made him more anxious about staying in the in-group. He was so crazy about being accepted that he was straying from everything that was important in his life—his mother and Jesus.
Although the peer pressure turned him down the wrong path, it was his terrible temper that nearly finished him off. He was calm for the most part, and it took a lot to make him angry, but once he reached the boiling point, he lost all control.
One time he was embarrassed by a wrong answer he gave in class and as he walked down the hall one of his friends came up to him and made a little fun of him. “That was a dumb thing to say,” taunted his friend.
Ben just shrugged and said, “I guess so.” He felt bad enough without having to be reminded.
Ben tried to ignore his friend, but his friend’s taunts and laughter became louder and louder. They began to argue, and finally Ben turned to his locker, ignoring him and hoping he would go away. As he was opening the lock, his friend pushed him and he stumbled. Ben then exploded. Forgetting that he had his lock in his hand, he swung at his friend. The lock hit his friend in the forehead. Seeing the blood flying cooled his anger immediately. Ben did profusely apologize in the principal’s office. He sincerely wanted to do better.
When in ninth grade, Ben was with a friend and they were listening to the radio. His friend did not like the music that was playing and reached over to change the channel. “You call that music?” he scoffed.
“It’s better than what you like!” Ben yelled grabbing for the dial.
“Oh, come on, Ben, You always—”
At that instant, blind anger seized Ben. He snapped open his camping knife that he carried in his pocket and he lunged at his friend. With all the strength he could muster, he thrust the knife towards his belly. The blade struck his big heavy belt buckle with such force that it snapped and dropped to the ground.
Ben stared at the broken blade and felt his stomach collapse. “I almost killed him,” he thought, “I almost killed my friend.” If that buckle had not protected him, his friend would be bleeding, wounded on the floor and dying. Ben could not say anything. He just muttered in disbelief, “I am sorry.” And he ran home.
He ran into the bathroom and prayed and cried to the Lord. He remained there for two hours praying. He hated himself. That moment he gave himself to the Lord and decided he was going to change his ways. He could not handle his anger. He asked the Lord for help. He took out his Bible and began to read. The Lord was speaking to him at that moment. He realized he had to take charge of his own life.
God heard Ben’s deep cries of anguish and he walked out of the bathroom a changed young man. He was free. From that point in time, at the age of 14, his faith in God was the most important part of who he was.
Ben Carson did end up going to university and fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor. He became a neurosurgeon, but his faith never wavered. With every success, he never took honour and glory to himself, but gave glory to God.
If you have dreams for the future, never give up. Do not let anything hold you back. As Ben’s mother said, “You were not born to be a failure.” God can help you fulfill your dreams. If you seek Him daily, He will direct your paths and show you which way to go, and He will bless your efforts.