HOW TRULY BLIND ARE WE?

JEREMY'S EGG

Let us please, not, in our haste to live our "daily" lives, blind ourselves, in the process, to the simple "goodness" inherent in others.

Contributed by: My good friend, Elizabeth Trent.

What Was In Jeremy's Egg?
[passed on from a pastor to a writers list -- no author credit given]

 
Jeremy Forrester was born with a twisted body and a 
chronic, terminal illness 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.
Teresa'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 completly 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 catepillar
changes and grows 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 embarass 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 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, Doris cried.  The cold inside her 
melted completely away.

Three months later Jeremy died.  Those who paid their 
respects at the mortuary were suprised to see 19 eggs on 
top of his casket, all of them empty.