Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killig him all his young life. Still, his parents tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa's Elementary school. At he age of 12, Jeremy was only in second grade, seeminlgy unable to learn. His teacher, Dorris 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, Dorris said to them, "Jeremy realy 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 5 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 wold be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he realy likes it here."

Dorris sat for a long time after they left, staring at the snow outside the window. It' 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 yongsters 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 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 snikered and Doris' face turned red. She stammere, "Wh-Why, that's very nice Jeremy. Now please take your seat."

Spring came and the children talked excitedly about the commig 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 childrena large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomarrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes Miss Miller." the children responded enthusiasticaly, all except Jeremy. He just listened intetly, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usa noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrecton? 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 lanlord and waited a hour for him to come by and unclogg it. After that she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She forgot all about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next day 19 children came to school, layghing and talking as they placed their eggs in a large wicker baskett on Miss Miller's desk. After their math lesson it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg Dorris 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 front row waved her arms, "That's my egg Miss Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which ooked very real. She held it up. "We all know that a catipillar changes and turns into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, this is new life too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said,"Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next Doris foud a rock with moss on it. She explained that the moss too showed life. Billy spoke 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 didn't 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 replied softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too!"Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked, "Do you why the tomb was empty?" "Oh yes," Jeremy replied, "Jesus was killed and put there, then His Father raised Him up!" The recess bell rang. While the children excitely 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 were suprised to see 19 eggs on Jeremy's casket.
All of them empty!

This story is dedicated to all who deal with the mentaly slow. Remember the lesson Jeremy taught us. We all are children of God! He doesn't see an imperfect mind or an imperfect body, He sees the perfect soul inside!
May God bless and keep all of His children!!!