The Empty Egg

THE EMPTY EGG


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 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 surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them
empty.


If this blesses you, pass it on.


Happy Easter!

Allah Had No Son

Barney Bear Lost and Found by Al Hartley

If you have been a follower of this site then you know that I like comic books. Here is a Christian comic book by Al Hartley.

Rest in Peace Jim Harmon

I just heard that Jim Harmon, the writer/editor of the "It's That Time Again" series of short stories dealing with characters from old time radio, has passed away. Mr. Harmon was the first person to buy a story of mine and published it in that series. He exchanged some e-mails with me and he seemed like a very kind man. I even learned a few literary devices from him. His last e-mail was to congratulate me on on the release of my book "Dinky the Elf" but how he may not be able to get a copy. Now I wish I had sent him a copy. Mr. Harmon was a huge fan of OTR, movies, comic books and more. He tried to encourge all writers and he will be missed.

As America Has Done to Israel

If you want to see how America's and Israel's history are intertwined you should read this book As America Has done to Israel. My cousin told me about it and it is very interesiting.

Brit Hume on Christianity and Tiger Woods

Taste My Jesus

At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called "Baptist Day." On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every "Baptist Day" the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center. .One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after
book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical
resurrection the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional
mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in
fact never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were
any questions. After about 30 seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head
of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium.
"Docta Tillich, I got one question," he said as all eyes turned toward him. He
reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. "Docta
Tillich.. CRUNCH, MUNCH "My question is a simple question,... CRUNCH, MUNCH...
"Now, I ain't never read them books you read..CRUNCH, MUNCH.." and I can't
recite the Scriptures in the original Greek...CRUNCH, MUNCH ...." I don't know
nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger...CRUNCH, MUNCH... He finished the apple.
"All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate, . . . . . . was it bitter or sweet?
Dr Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion:
"I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple." The
white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag,
looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, "Neither have you tasted my Jesus."
The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The group erupted with applause and cheers.
Have you tasted Jesus? Jesus has risen... and He's coming back one day... "Taste
and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. If you have, rejoice in the hope of the resurrection that your faith in Him brings."

Psalm 34:8!

(PLEASE taste my Jesus!!! He leaves a sweet taste you cannot forget!)