The Empty Egg
A Child Will Lead Them. "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them." ~ Isaiah 11:6. Children are sometimes gifted with sight, which can be lost when we grow up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Story of 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 Foresters 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 Foresters. 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 empty Easter 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 Easter eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk.
After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the now filled empty 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 empty egg shell 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.
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 Easter egg?"
Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your Easter 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." "And that's how Easter started!"
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 Easter eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.
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just
for
laughs!
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If you are like I am, (and I feel that many of you are.. seeing awesome pictures are "PRECIOUS MEMORIES" perhaps of our own childhood, with our siblings and parents! Or perhaps of your children or grandchildren. Either way, I am soo grateful.. for the MEMORIES, as well as my parents, grandparents, my husband, our children (and now their mates) and each of our five grandchildren! Grateful for the health, (both physically, and emotionally) of each, their happiness, and all the many wonderful things God has had, and still has in store for each of us! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND ONE SPECIAL COUNTY PICTURE OF
"FRESH EGGS"
YOU JUST CANNOT GET THEM MORE FRESH THAN THIS!
(THAT TOO IS PRECIOUS MEMORIES FOR US AND OUR FAMILY.. WE'VE RAISED CHICKENS (of many sizes) AND HAD LOTS OF "FRESH EGGS" AND ALSO RAISED RABBITS, DUCKS, GUINEAS)
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GIVING THANKS TO JESUS FOR ALL HE HAS DONE FOR EACH OF US.. HE DID IT ALL SO THAT WE CAN LIVE ETERNALLY WITH HIM IN HEAVEN! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRAYING FOR YOU AND YOURS THAT GOD WILL BLESS EACH OF YOU SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, MENTALLY, FINANCIALLY, AND WITH HIS AWESOME LOVE, GRACE, GUIDANCE, FORGIVENESS, AND A SPECIAL BLESSING FOR EACH OF YOU THAT ONLY HE KNOWS WILL BE EXTRA SPECIAL FOR YOU AND YOURS. PRAYING FOR EVERYONE THAT IS SICK ,ESPECIALLY FOR JENNA AND FOR EVAN AS WELL, (AND THE FAMILIES OF EACH) PRAYING FOR SISTER JANE, BROTHER JOHN AND FOR EMORY, AND ASKING GOD TO TOUCH EACH OF THESE ESPECIALLY WITH HIS HEALING HANDS, AS WELL AS THE MANY, MANY OTHERS THAT ARE SICK.. INCLUDING ALL THE PRAYER REQUEST AND THE "UNSPOKEN PRAYER REQUEST" . PRAYING FOR PROTECTION, HAPPINESS, AND LOVE FOR ALL THE INNOCENT CHILDREN, AND THE BULLIED OF ALL AGES. PRAYING FOR THOSE THAT ARE HURTING, AND ALL OF THOSE THAT ARE GRIEVING.. PLEASE GOD, TOUCH EACH OF THEM WITH YOUR PEACE AND GRANT THEM COMFORT. PRAYING TOO FOR OUR COUNTRY AND IT'S LEADERS, PLEASE GOD GUIDE THEM ALL BACK TO YOU AND HELP THEM TO DO THINGS FOR THE COUNTRY (AND IT'S PEOPLE) THAT ARE IN YOUR WILL. PRAYING FOR OUR SOLDIERS, PLEASE GRANT THEM SAFETY AND YOUR PROTECTION, BRING THEM SAFELY AND QUICKLY HOME. GIVING THANKS FOR ALL YOUR LOVE, MERCIES, FORGIVENESS AND GUIDANCE, AND FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE, ARE DOING, AND WILL DO ON BEHALF OF ALL THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN MY HEART (MANY I DON'T KNOW THEIR NAMES LORD, BUT YOU DO) GIVING YOU MY LOVE, THANKS, RESPECT, HONOR, PRAISE AND GLORY IN ALL THINGS IN JESUS HOLY NAME, AMEN.
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