The empty easter
egg
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.
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 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, Doris replied, "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 schoolyard,
Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.
Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid there respects at the mortuary
were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.
~Author
Unknown~