Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12

he was still 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 just irritated his teacher.

One day, she called his parents and asked them to come in for a

consultation. As the Forresters entered 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 had 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. 'Here I am

complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family,'

she thought. 'Lord, 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, loud enough for the whole

class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red.

She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy.

N-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 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 arm. "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 grows into a beautiful

butterfly. Yes, that's 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 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 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 said, "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