Empty Egg

AUTHOR UNKNOWN
The Empty Egg

Eight year old Steven was mentally handicapped. His problem seemed to be getting worse day by day, and was becoming more apparent to his school teacher and also to his classmates. The teacher was becoming worried about how the other students would treat him. She wondered if they would continue to identify with him, love him, and include him in their games and activities as they became aware of his differences.

In April, the teacher asked the class to each put together one plastic Easter egg filled with a small object that represented new life in the spring.

Thinking that Steven did not catch on, and not wanting to embarrass him, the teacher had the children place the plastic eggs on her desk so that she could open them. The first egg contained a tiny wildflower. The teacher acknowledged that the flower was truly an indication of new life. The little girl that brought the flower was overjoyed and told the class that it was her egg.

Next came a rock. The teacher thought that this must be Steven's, since rocks do not symbolize new life or growth. But as she opened the egg with the rock in it, a little boy shouted from the back of the room that the rock had moss on it, and that is new life. The teacher agreed. A butterfly flew out of the next egg, and the little girl that brought it bragged that the butterfly was the best indication of new life thus far.

The fourth egg was empty! The teacher thought that this had to be Steven's egg, so she nervously passed it by and quickly moved on to the next egg. But Steven announced that the empty egg was his. Hesitating, the teacher replied, "But Steven, it's empty." "That's right," said little Steven, "Just like Jesus' tomb, and that means new life for everyone!

Later that same summer, Steven's condition worsened, and he died. At the funeral, on the casket, the children had nestled plastic Easter eggs among the flowers. Some people that did not know the story were puzzled; but no floral spray, no matter how beautiful, could ever convey the wonderful message those empty eggs told. And empty tomb some two thousand years earlier gave Steven the hope of a new life.