Shane 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, DorisMiller, 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, Shane just irritated his teacher.One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Davids entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Shane really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems.
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, Shane just irritated his teacher.One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Davids entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Shane 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. David 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 Shane 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 Davids. 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 Shane was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learnto 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 Shane.
From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Shane's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behindhim."I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole classto hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. Shestammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Shane. 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 Shane. 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 Shane'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. Sheexplained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.
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. Sheexplained 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 Shane's she thought, and of course, he did not understandher 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, Shane spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Shane,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," Shane said, "Jesus was killed andput 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, Shane died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.
-Author Unknown
Lovely Chriz! Beautiful story! Thank you for making my morning! :)
ReplyDeletePS. I am the first to comment! Yaay!
OMG...
ReplyDeleteDEEPY MOVING
BEAUTIFULLLLLLLL
woooooooooooow!!!Chriz...its beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteit made my day:)
@tara
ReplyDeletewhen i first read this post, i was like, i should post this in my blog.. and here it is
@swats
ReplyDeleteyes it moved me too
@richa
ReplyDeleteso very true
Oh Man!
ReplyDeleteThose were some goosebumps
....
@bhaw
ReplyDeleteyou too had it.. me too
big lump in my throat...eyes have tears to properly type...
ReplyDeletejus too beautiful n touchin!!!
Very touching man.. At times, things like these help us put things in perspective..
ReplyDeleteunknown means wat? this ain't urs ..its completely mindblowing
ReplyDeletebtw blog updated
ReplyDeleteMoving post chriz...very well done!
ReplyDeleteMesmerising !!
ReplyDeleteI have always loved the deep and thought provoking posts you have put up time n again, and this one is an yet another gem in the pile !
Thankyou for this.
:)
thanks a ton 4 this chriz :')
ReplyDeleteNaan Ippo alluthukittu irukeen :(
ReplyDeleteOh Chriz... that was so touching, it almost bought tears to my eyes!!
ReplyDeleteomg...really a serious one.
ReplyDeleteits different!!! :)
that gave me goosebumps... lovely!
ReplyDeletebreathtakingly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteim moved to tears......
thank you chris for brining back so many happy things back...lessons and things that i had almost begun to forget... :)
o gosh. such a beautiful tale. It is not real no? Shane is such a adorable child.
ReplyDeleteths really lovely criz n a chnge too :)
ReplyDelete@mayz
ReplyDeletethanks bro
@urv
so true .. i had this writeup in my mailbox for a long time.. thought of posting it in my page..
@farah
ReplyDeletei cant see any updations in my blogroll.. will check ur blog page.. and yes unknown author means , author unknown,... it is not my creation.. this one made my eyes to well up.. so added it here
@prakhar
ReplyDeletethanks brodhaaaa
@cinderella
ReplyDeletei know that you love serious posts like this.. :) a special dedication to you.. keep coming
@trinaa
ReplyDeletewelkum lady
@shiva
same tears here too
@ishwarya
ReplyDeleteinnum alalaiyaa?
@archana
thanks
@anusha
ReplyDeletewelkum back
@raka
hehe.. thanks a lot sistaa
@kiran
ReplyDeleteit was from the inspirational series stories... i dunno if it were real.. but inspirational stories like this are not fake i guess
@richa
ReplyDeletei was moved too.. thank yu
Gosh.. Im having goosebumps... Deeply touched!
ReplyDeletethat made me cry. beautiful post.
ReplyDeletethanks.
fantastic story chriz.. though its not your story, i dont think its a copy-paste job.. it seems you have spent a lotta time writing it..
ReplyDeletethanks for this story..
Wow...
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed... such a nice idea... and ofcourse the presentation was great too... :)
beautiful story chriz...awesome!
ReplyDeletehey Chris,
ReplyDeleteDo you understand the meaning of the "A nice Human Being"....
I loved the story.... and Yes its time for the empty tomb.....