In the maternity ward, Billy’s mom gazed down on Billy snuggled in her arms. He was perfect. She loved him with all her heart. He would have the best. Nothing was too good for Billy. At home, she loved watching him grow and learn. His smile was infectious. All her friends loved him.
When it was time for kindergarten, she saw how the other kids gravitated toward him. It was obvious he was very intelligent but was focused solely on what attracted his attention and ignored his teacher.
In primary school, he and his classmates were assigned projects to do at home. He ignored them. In high school, instead of doing his homework in his room, he listened to music and surfed the internet.
On his first day at high school, Billy was given a syllabus and a textbook entitled Discovering Life’s Purpose. Chapters 19 and 21 contained the five-year curriculum: love your creator; love with all your heart; love with all your strength; love with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself. Billy thought to himself, “Love a creator I can’t see, touch or hear? I don’t think so! Love your neighbour? I don’t even like most of them.” Billy never once opened the book throughout all five years of high school.
His mother offered her help with his studies, but he ignored her. He was too busy pursuing his own interests. She wanted him to learn, but she knew it had to be his decision. Forcing him would not work. She lovingly and patiently followed his lack of progress. She accepted what he was letting happen to himself. She had a Plan B. If he didn’t succeed in matriculating at the end of high school, she would offer him a remedial program. She called her Plan B purgatory.
From time to time, fellow students would approach Billy and urge him to prepare for his matriculation from high school. They told him there was a whole new world awaiting him, with endless possibilities for fulfillment, and he could be part of that new world only if he was sufficiently prepared at the end of his high school years. Bill didn’t believe them and
simply did his own thing throughout high school.
At the end of each school year, it was time for a few of his older friends to matriculate. They moved on and he never saw them again. He missed them, had no idea where they had gone, and soon forgot about them. However, as more and more of his friends left him, he began to feel uneasy. Maybe those who had approached him from time to time were right. Maybe he should have done more to prepare himself for the end of his high school years. Maybe he was missing something. Each time, he shook the uneasiness aside. Without even being
aware of it, he simply turned his attention to his next project.
Finally, his high school years came to an end. The principal loved Billy as much as his mom did, but his judgement was that Billy was woefully unprepared for matriculation. He was saddened but glad that Billy’s mom had prepared her Plan B for him.
What about you? Will you matriculate at the end of your earthly years?
CAST
Billy All ofUs
Billy’s Mom God
Principal God
Del H. Smith conducts research into life’s meaning and is the award-winning author of the Amazon Best Seller, Discovering Life’s Purpose.