1Where is Jeremy's Egg?
Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind, and a chronic terminal illness that had been slowly killing him throughout his young life. Still, his parents had tried their best to give him as normal a life as possible and 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, often became exasperated with him. He would often disturb the class by squirming in his seat, drooling, and making grunting noises.
Sometimes, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, he just irritated his teacher. One day, Doris called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa's for a consultation.
Jeremy's parents sat quietly in the empty classroom in front of Ms. Doris, and she exclaimed 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. 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 and 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."
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's 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 Miller!"
The children responded enthusiastically. All the children responded 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's death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment?
The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in a 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 had a beautiful butterfly in it, and one had a rock with moss on it. Then Doris opened the fourth egg; it was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy's, she thought, and of course, he did not understand the instructions.
She put that egg down so she wouldn't embarrass him. Suddenly Jeremy spoke up and said, "Aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy—your egg is empty!" Jeremy looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus's tomb was empty, too!"
Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why his 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 funeral were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of Jeremy's casket, all of them empty.
From India, Gurgaon
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Life lessons.pps