Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the
age of
12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn.
His
teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him.
He would
squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At
other times,
he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had
penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time,
however,
Jeremy just irritated his teacher.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Empty Egg
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One day she called his parents and asked them to come in
for a
consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty
classroom, Doris
said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special
school. It isn't
fair to him to be with younger children who don't have
learning
problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and
that of
the other students."
Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her
husband
spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no
school of that kind
nearby.. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had
to take
him out of this school. We know he really likes it
here." Doris sat
for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow
outside the
window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She
wanted to
sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child
had a
terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her
class. She
had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a
distraction.
Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why
waste any
more time trying?
As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here
I am
complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that
poor
family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more
patient with
Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's
noises
and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk,
dragging
his bad leg behind him.
"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud
enough for the whole
class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned
red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy.
N-now please
take your seat."
Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the
coming of
Easter. Doris told them
the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize
the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the
children
a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them,
"I want you to take
this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside
that
shows new life. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded
enthusiastically-
all
except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never
left her
face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he
understood what
she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he
understand
the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and
explain the
project to them.
That evening, Doris'
kitchen sink stopped up. She called the
landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog
it. After
that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse,
and
prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely
forgot
about phoning Jeremy's parents.
The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and
talking
as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on
Miss
Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it
was time
to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a
flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said.
"When plants peek
through the ground, we know that spring is here." A
small girl in
the first row waved her arm.. "That's my egg, Miss
Miller," she
called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly,
which looked
very real. Doris held it
up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes
and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life,
too."
Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller,
that one is
mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that
moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the
classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.
Then Doris opened the
fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty.
Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he
did not
understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten
to phone
his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she
quietly
set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy
spoke
up.. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my
egg?" Flustered,
Dorisreplied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her
eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty,
too."
Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you
know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes,"
Jeremy said, "Jesus was
killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him
up."
The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out
to the
school yard, Doris cried.
The cold inside her melted completely
away.
Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their
respects at
the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his
casket, all
of them empty.
Author Unknown
Happy Easter!
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