A BROTHER FOR BEN

I live in Brooklyn. I'm a grown man now, but I like to tell the story of when I was a young boy in the first grade.

My best friend at the time was Ben Clark. Benny was the youngest in his large family, and his mother was pregnant with her ninth child. Ben came to school one day and told me,

"Mikey, my mother went to the hospital this morning to have the baby. We have to pray for a boy. I need a brother. I have seven sisters already, way too many for me. Help me pray so God will finally bring me a brother."

Right then and there, we prayed together. We prayed separately during class time, and we prayed together at lunch and recess. Finally, we prayed together on the bus going home. When Ben got back to his house, his grandma told him,

"Congratulations, Benny. You have another sister, and her name is Martha."

Benny was devastated. Yet, he knew we both prayed so hard that God would surely answer his prayers...just not at this time.

"It's another girl, Mikey. Maybe one day I'll get a brother." He told me.

Ben's mother never had any more children. Nine kids were enough blessings from God.

Fast-forward to today. It's seventy years later. Thank God, I have a great, big family. My wife and I have six children and, at last count, thirty-two grandchildren.

As for Ben, he did get the brother we prayed for. It's me. I married Martha.

Little did I know, back in the first grade, that Ben and I weren't just best friends, and we weren't just prayer partners. God meant for us to be brothers.

Ultimately, God knows how to best answer our prayers. It may take twenty years to see it or understand it. But when you do, you realize that our God is all-knowing and always sets a course for our lives that is good, very good.

By Susan Diamond, based on a true story

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