Bible

[excel]

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HE is not here
author unknown

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 there respects at the
mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them
empty.


Excel - Greg