THE BOY WHO GOT IT RIGHT THE SECOND TIME

AIDED BY LATENCY

 

Jake grew up in a good home.  

A home where his parents raised him and his older brother James with  good values based on respect for all people.

Jake was not very receptive to the instruction of his parents. 

He was a rebellious boy who did not see the value of living a disciplined life.   Jake preferred to live recklessly with little regard for rules and decorum.

His brother James was different.  

Jakes’s older brother loved discipline and took in good faith, everything his parents taught him. 

James was malleable to instruction and had a demeanor which was very different from the rebellious attitude of his brother.

The difference was clear between the two brothers.  

While James was always doing exactly what his parents required of him, Jake on the other hand was always getting in trouble both within and outside the home.

While James seemed to have a full grasp of everything his parents taught him, Jake seemed to be totally deaf to the instruction and guidance given him.

Many neighbors who observed the two boys gave up on Jake. 

They did not believe he could ever do anything worthwhile with his life due to his recalcitrant attitude to everything good and sound.

“How could two people grow up under the same environment and yet be so different?”

people who knew both James and Jake wondered in bewilderment.

Jake continued to make decisions contrary to the values of his parents.  

He even asked his parents for a large sum of money and when he received it, he decided to leave home with the money to go live in a different city  where he would be away from the influence of their values.

After a while of living the carefree life with the money his parents gave him, Jake depleted everything in his possession  and fell on hard times.

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He tried finding a job but was not very successful in getting one which paid him decently.  

Things continued to worsen for Jake. 

All his friends deserted him since he had no more money with which to party with them.

Jake saw some of his friends engage in criminal activity in order to sustain the partying life style.

As he continued to struggle financially, he was tempted to take up a life of crime just like the others but something happened to him as he contemplated his next course of action.

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As Jake reasoned with himself, he suddenly found himself remembering everything his parents taught him while he was still with them.   

All the values he hated while growing up at home came rushing to him all at once.

Armed with the good values which lay latently within him,  Jake decided not to pursue a life of crime, but instead journey back home to his parents and apologize for all the trouble he had taken them through all these years.

When Jake got home, his family welcomed him with open arms and there was a great feast to celebrate his turn-around.

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James did not quite understand why his parents were so happy to welcome his brother Jake back after all his transgressions towards the family.

James’ mother pulled him to the side when she noticed his unhappiness and explained to him the reason his father and her were so joyful.

She told James they were celebrating because everything they taught Jake had finally taken hold in him.

She reasoned that the whole essence of raising children based on the right values is to provide a moral compass which will guide them in life when the parents were no longer present to guide the children. 

Jake started out as one who wanted to have nothing to do with the moral compass of his parents, but because they did not lose hope in him, they continued giving him doses of it on a daily basis.  

His parents relentlessly deposited the moral compass into the rebellious boy who showed no sign of receiving it.  

They understood the power of latency. 

They hoped that if they continued to teach Jake the right values even though he was resistant at the moment, one day, the latent values deposited will guide him in life when he needed it and they were no longer there to provide that guidance.

Their bet paid off when Jake at a crucial point in his life with so many different decisions laying  before him,   made the right choice to go back home and humble himself before his parents instead of running further into a life of destruction.

With that, James’ mother admonished him not to ever lose hope when working on something he loved even if he was not seeing immediate results.    Latency, according to James’ mother is always at work and so continue to labor until the day latency brings forth that which you have always desired to see.