Jeremy's Egg

March 31, 2025

As we get closer to Easter I found this inspiring true Easter story written by Ida Mae Kempel and published in 1997. It is about Jeremy, who was born with a twisted body, a slow mind and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killing him all his young life. Still, his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa’s Elementary School.

At the age of 12, Jeremy was only 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 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, 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 while her husband said, “Miss Miller, 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 left. 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 eighteen other youngsters to teach and Jeremy was a distraction. 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 to be more patient with Jeremy.” Her prayer worked because one day he said loud enough for all to hear, “I love you, Miss Miller,”

As Easter approached Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life, 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 just 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? She was going to call Jeremy’s parents, but life got complicated that evening.

The next morning, nineteen children placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller’s desk. 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 arms. “That’s my egg, Miss Miller,” she called out.

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly. Doris held it up. “We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life, too.” Little Judy smiled proudly and said, “Miss Miller, that one is mine.”

As Doris opened eggs she explained how each represented new life. Then she opened an egg that was empty. She gasped. 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!”

When she could speak again. Doris asked him, " Do you know why the tomb was empty?"

Jeremy exclaimed, “Oh yes! 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 guilt inside her melted completely away. Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the funeral home were surprised to see nineteen eggs in his casket, all of them empty. Some stories just need to be shared. To God be the Glory! (To learn more about Al Earley or read previous articles, see www.lagrangepres.org. You can purchase my book, My Faith Journal, at Amazon.com, a compilation of 366 articles as a daily devotional).