Jeremy Shows Us The Signs of Life

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 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.