If I had a hammer … or seven
Ben Garlick warned his mother.
“I’m not going to tell you what it is,” he said, “but there’s gonna be a special surprise when we sing ‘Up on the Housetop.’”
So his mom, Whitney Stark, was ready with her phone when her 9-year-old son and his fellow fourth graders took the stage at La Grange Elementary in Texas for their annual Christmas program.
“I thought they were going to do something sweet for the parents,” said Stark, who worships with the La Grange Church of Christ.
Not exactly. What the kids did was “very unexpected,” she said, but wonderful nonetheless.
@whitneystark988 Our music teacher @songbirdphil did an awesome job arranging this one #uponthehousetop #christmasconcert #hammertime #funnychristmas ♬ original sound – Whitney
Folks on social media seem to agree. Stark’s video of the song has 16.7 million views, and counting, on TikTok.
In the video, music teacher Phillip Brummett leads the students in “Up on the Housetop,” the 1864 Christmas classic by Benjamin Hanby.
The performance seems normal enough, but when the singers get to the verse that begins “Look in the stocking of little Bill. Oh, just see what a glorious fill. Here is a hammer and lots of tacks …” one of them — John, who happens to be standing next to Ben — produces an actual hammer and a bag of nails.
Brummett stops the song, confiscates the hammer and restarts the verse, during which John produces a second hammer and then a third — this time the legendary hammer Mjölner, weapon of Marvel superhero Thor.
La Grange Elementary student John, at left, takes the line “here is a hammer” a bit too seriously as his accomplice, Ben Stark, and his fellow students grin during the singing of “Up on the Housetop.”
“John!” Brummett yells, exasperated. “Where are you getting all these hammers from?”
That’s about when Stark noticed her son release the brake on his wheelchair and attempt to sneak offstage.
“What’s he doing?” she thought.
Confronted by Brummett, Ben turned around to reveal a Home Depot’s worth of hammers strapped to the back of his chair.
“I think it was, like, seven hammers,” Ben told The Christian Chronicle.
Ben Garlick
Born with spina bifida, a condition caused by the spine and spinal cord not developing properly in the womb, Ben has used a wheelchair for most of his life. But he doesn’t let it slow him down.
“He is just a kid that strives to be independent,” his mom said. When Ben saw his two younger brothers, Asher and Grant, and his classmates going out for sports, he wanted to play, too. So Stark found a wheelchair basketball team an hour away in Austin.
Ben Starks helps lead singing during Vacation Bible School at the La Grange Church of Christ in Texas.
“I’ll never forget the day we walked into the gym and met with the kids, parents and coaches,” Stark said. “Ben’s eyes lit up when he saw all the kids in wheelchairs just like him! Watching him get in on the practice and start playing with the others was pure joy. On our way home I couldn’t help but cry happy tears and give thanks to God for leading us to this amazing group. Since then, we’ve continued to be a part of basketball, joined track and field, 4H, and have learned about camps that offer many opportunities for kids and families that deal with life challenges.”
Just a few days before “nailing” his role in the school program, Ben was in the La Grange church’s Christmas pageant in the role of Angel No. 2. It was his job to tell the shepherds watching their flocks the words from Luke 2: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Ben Stark and his friends perform in a Christmas pageant for the La Grange Church of Christ in Texas.
He also leads singing on Wednesday nights — something he’s done since age 6 when minister Scott Elliott first asked him to give it a try. Among his favorite songs are “I Keep Falling in Love with Him” and “Take Me to the Water,” a song about baptism.
“Ben is a great encouragement to us all,” Elliott told the Chronicle. “We love hearing him lead singing and seeing him help in other ways. He is a special part of our congregation.”
Ben Stark leads singing on a Wednesday night with a little assistance from his grandfather, Kevin Stark, a deacon of the La Grange Church of Christ in Texas.
Ben’s favorite Bible story comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel, when the prophet Daniel is cast into a den of lions for the crime of praying to God. But “an angel shut the lion’s mouths,” Ben said, quoting Daniel 6:22.
Among his mom’s favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Ben Garlick and his mom, Whitney Stark, serve at a food pantry in La Grange, Texas.
“If God knew this about Jeremiah, who’s to doubt the same with all of us, even Benjamin?” she said. “There is a reason for our being. Through faith, God can mold us. And through our believing, we can set our minds to anything!”
“There is a reason for our being. Through faith, God can mold us. And through our believing, we can set our minds to anything!”
“Anything,” in Ben’s case, involved smuggling seven hammers into a Christmas program.
Actually, the gag was his music teacher’s idea, Ben said. He was glad to be a part of it — and glad he was uniquely suited to serve.
As for his co-conspirator, John, the two didn’t know each other well before the performance, Ben said.
Going forward, he added, “I think we’re going to be good friends.”
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