Jeremy's Egg
Jeremy was born with a twisted body,
a slow mind and a chronic, terminal
illness that had been slowly killing
him all his young life. Still, his
parents had tried to give him as
normal a life as possible and had sent
him to St. Theresa's elementary school.
At the age of 12, Jeremy was only 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
irritated his teacher. One day, she
called his parents and asked them to
come to St. Theresa's for a consultation.
As the Forresters sat quietly in 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 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 or write. Why waste any more
time trying? As she pondered the situation,
guilt washed over her. "Oh, God," she said
aloud, "here I am complaining when my
problems are nothing compared with that
poor family! 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, loudly enough for the whole class
to hear. The other children snickered, and
Doris' face turned red. She stammered,
"wh-why, that's very nice, Jeremy. 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 just 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 arms. "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 turns into a beautiful butterfly. Yes,
that is 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 the 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 in 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
exclaimed. "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 their respects at the mortuary
were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of
his casket, ... all of them empty.
God's Page ~ ~ ~
God's Word
Revised: July 1, 1999
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