“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
Jeremy's Egg
By Shannon Pederson
Recently, I came across this inspirational story. What a wonderful time of year to share a story of rebirth and renewal. The story was written by Ida Mae Kempel, author of several books and short stories.
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, Mrs. Miller called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa’s for a consultation. As the Forrester’s sat quietly in the empty classroom, the teacher 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. “Mrs. 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.”
Mrs. Miller 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. 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, Mrs. Miller!” he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered and Mrs. Miller’s face turned red. She stammered, “Why that’s very nice Jeremy. Now please take your seat.”
Spring came and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Mrs. Miller 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, Mrs. 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, Mrs. Miller was very busy and completely forgot about phoning Jeremy’s parents. The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in a large wicker basket on the teacher’s desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Mrs. Miller found a flower. “Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life. When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here.”
The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Mrs. Miller held it up. “We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life too.”
Next Mrs. Miller found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life.
Then Mrs. Miller 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. “Mrs. Miller, aren’t you going to talk about my egg?
Flustered, Mrs. Miller 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, Mrs. Miller 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 school yard, Mrs. Miller 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.
May the Easter Eggs of all your friends and family be empty too.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7
Recently, I came across this inspirational story. What a wonderful time of year to share a story of rebirth and renewal. The story was written by Ida Mae Kempel, author of several books and short stories.
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, Mrs. Miller called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa’s for a consultation. As the Forrester’s sat quietly in the empty classroom, the teacher 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. “Mrs. 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.”
Mrs. Miller 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. 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, Mrs. Miller!” he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered and Mrs. Miller’s face turned red. She stammered, “Why that’s very nice Jeremy. Now please take your seat.”
Spring came and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Mrs. Miller 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, Mrs. 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, Mrs. Miller was very busy and completely forgot about phoning Jeremy’s parents. The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in a large wicker basket on the teacher’s desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Mrs. Miller found a flower. “Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life. When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here.”
The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Mrs. Miller held it up. “We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life too.”
Next Mrs. Miller found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life.
Then Mrs. Miller 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. “Mrs. Miller, aren’t you going to talk about my egg?
Flustered, Mrs. Miller 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, Mrs. Miller 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 school yard, Mrs. Miller 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.
May the Easter Eggs of all your friends and family be empty too.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7