A SOLITARY GRAIN

During April, a Sunday School teacher asked all eight children in her class to hide within an empty container a small object that represented life in the Spring. Not wanting to embarrass eight-year-old Stephen, whose mental retardation was becoming more manifest, the teacher suggested that the children all place their unlabelled containers on her desk. Since she feared that Stephen might not have caught on, she decided that she should open them. The first had a tiny flower. "What a lovely sign of new life!" "I brought that one!" the donor exclaimed. Next came a rock. "That must be Stephen's," the teacher thought, since rocks do not symbolize new life. But Billy shouted that his rock had moss on it, and moss was new life. The teacher agreed. A butterfly flew from the third container, and another child bragged that her choice was best of all. The fourth container was empty. "That has to be Stephen's," thought the teacher, quickly reaching for the fifth. "Please, don't skip mine!' Stephen interjected. "But it's empty." "That's right," said Stephen. "The tomb was empty, and that is new life for every-one." Later that summer, Stephen's condition grew worse, and he died. On his casket at the funeral, mourners found eight containers. They were ALL EMPTY!