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 Millar, 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 Millar" 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. It's coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters.

After all, their only child has a terminal illness. But it was not fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other kids 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 of 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 Millar," 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 them 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 Millar!" the children responded enthusiastically all except for Jeremy. He just listened intently, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make any of his noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus, the resurrection, and new life? Did he understand the assignment? Should she call his parents and explain the assignment to them?

That night Doris had a million things to do and completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents. The next morning, 19 children came to school and placed their eggs in the large whicker basket on Miss Millar's desk. 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 waved her arms and cried "That's my egg!" 

The next egg contained a butterfly. Doris held it up "We all know that caterpillars turn into butterflies, that is new life too!" Little Judy smiled and said "Miss Millar that one is mine." 

Doris went through a few more eggs and explained how things like moss and rocks showed new life. Several kids yelled excitedly as their eggs were opened.

The next egg she picked up felt light and she gasped when she found it was empty. She figured the egg must be Jeremy's and realized she had forgotten to phone his parents. Not wanting to embarrass him she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

Suddenly Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Millar, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" 

Flustered, she 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 she 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 ran out to play, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted away.

Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the service were surprised to see 19 plastic eggs on top of his casket... All of them EMPTY.

- Author Unknown