Gifted Hands. There is a great movie titled Gifted Hands. The story goes with a man named Benjamin Carson. He used to be called as Benny or Ben. He is a brain neurosurgery. He takes so many difficult cases in his field. By this bravery and faith, he can ‘break’ all the cases successfully. He is very famous. One day, he finds a challenge when he has to take the case of a twin male baby which experience bleeding to death. He tries to ‘break’ this case by reading so many books. The babies’ names are Johann and Stefan; they are still 4 months old. When he reads the book to learn the illness, his mind goes to 1961 when he still lived in Detroit.
He was still in the junior high school and he was the stupidest student in the class. He had claimed himself as a stupid person that he never got good mark in every exam. All of his friends also claimed the same and he had underestimated himself. He lived with his mother as single parent and his elder brother, Curtis. His mother was married in 13 years old and in 1955, she divorced with her husband that actually had already had his own wife and another kids. Her mother tried hard to make their family live by renting their house in Boston and moved to the Detroit. Ben’s mother also could not read. However, Ben’s mother was very inspirational for her children. She wanted to make her boys smart and success. She always said that Ben was not stupid, he is smart and he should imagine all what he knew to make it easy. Ben said he can not do that. However, one day when Ben went to the church, he listened to the story from Pastor Ford and he can imagine what the Pastor said!
Even, because of the story, at that time he promised to himself that he wanted to be a doctor. Sometimes Ben’s mother could not make her heart calm, she still remembered the incident of her failed marriage and it hurts. Then, she decided to go to make her heart calm for a moment and she told the boys that Ben must can the time table after she went back home. When she went, they lived with Sister Scott. Ben tried hard with Curtis’ help and after their mother came back home, Ben could do that exactly, even for the first time he got an A in the exam! Then, Ben’s mother worked as a cleaning woman in Professor Burket’s home. When she looked the library in the house, she had an idea to make her children smart. She asked her boys to read minimum 2 books a week and to make weekly report to her. They did it lazily, but after that they, especially Ben, felt the advantages. Ben became so smart in many fields, like geography, biology, and many more. Otherwise, Ben’s mother also did not want to be stupid, she started to learn to read with Professor Burket.
They went back to Boston and Ben got him Senior High School there. He became the odd clothes’ user there and he was very ashamed. He became so naughty. He tried to against his mother, his friends, and all people around him. He had a saw that one day he accidentally stuck it to his friend’s stomach. Then he realized what he did and he was back to the old Ben. He repents and forswear.
In 1969, he came to Yale University as a student. He took brain surgeon field (as neurosurgery). Here he also became the ‘stupidest’ student. He was so long there. However, his girlfriend, Candy always supported him and he always remembered what his mother said, “Only you can do it better. You can do anyone do. You got the book inside you.” One day, at the night before a very crucial moment in examination, he dreamed of the question of the exam and he dreamed of his mother and all what she said. At last, he could do the exam perfectly.
He started to go to John Hopkins’ Hospital. When he had the interview, he said that brain is miracle, everything comes out from the brain and because of that he wanted to be brain surgery. He accepted there. The first ‘exam’ there was when he had to take decision to do operation when no one were there and could take over it. The second ‘exam’ was operation of a 4 years old girl who experienced seizure since she was in 18 months old. He had the bravery and he could do it successfully without do any risk.
He doesn’t always feel happy. He feels up and down, and one day he felt very down when he had to experience his twin son-wanna-be died in the womb of his wife, Candy. However he had to be professional and Candy helped him to be survived. Candy realized that she has Ben, she needs Ben but the world also needs Ben. Candy doesn’t be an egoist person.
Ben started to do something bigger in the hospital. He tried to make a very comfortable and good operation room with music classic inside (he loves music classic very much). When back to the reality, he still learns to secure the twin babies. After so much learning time and with his faith, he does the operation. So many hours left and he with his diligently does the operation carefully. At last, he does it very well! He becomes so famous. It’s all because of his bravery, faith, and also support from all people around him. See him, from nobody, he becomes somebody. Everyone can be somebody like him. The question is only, “Do we want to do what he does?” He tried not hard, but very hard, and it is the fruit.
I also always think that I am no one. Nobody loves me. I don’t look like the other girls. I am not beautiful, and so on. However, from this movie I learned that I also somebody for someone. Why should I have envy or anger in my heart if I am also somebody? I never know that maybe other people also feel jealous of mine. What I can do just to be myself, erase any negative thinking that say that I am stupid, not beautiful, etc and just be confident. In work world, we should appreciate ourselves first then trying to appreciate others as unique people. When we have hands, they are gifted from God. What we should do is make them useful. Don’t let them do such bad things; don’t make them stop to do something, but use them to do something useful for others. They are gift and we should keep it worthy too. We have to aware of our environment and try to help as many people as we can. Never saying give up and always trying. I know from Ben, that everybody can do the best. Especially in work world, when we can do the best, God will do the rest. Ben believes that and I also believe that. With good work and good faith in God, everything will be the best. I believe there’s a fruit from every kindness we do. Maybe it is not today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. However, our kindness will be blessing for people who get it.
So, be blessed to bless others!!
