A big “Thank you !” to Rev. Alistair Sharp and his Dad for this beautiful story which, between them they have told and continually developed for years, and which I have thoroughly enjoyed retelling as a story poem of God’s love.
I am currently working on an illustrated picture book version of this story poem, but in the meantime I am happy for anyone to use the poem for any non-commercial purpose: the message of God’s love is meant to be shared freely!
One day a boy named Stephen made a wonderful creation
Then he stood and gazed upon his work with total adoration.
As he looked with joy and pride upon the work of his own hand,
He thought of God’s creation and began to understand
How the Lord Almighty, Father God had felt when he had made
The earth in all its splendour as His power He displayed….
And how His heart had overflowed with love when He made man;
For each of us, the Lord reveals, were special in His plan.
Then Stephen took his precious work of art, a lovely boat,
To test it on a nearby stream and see if it would float.
But, tragically, a fearsome current snatched it from his care
And once again he thought of God and started to compare
How God Almighty must have felt as mankind slipped away
And drifted from the safety of His arms towards decay.
And as young Stephen’s boat was disappearing out of sight
The desperation grew in him to save it from its plight.
But Stephen’s boat was swept along as it went with the tide
Leaving Stephen calling with his arms out open wide.
Then once again he thought of Jesus battling our loss
And earning back our right to life by dying on the cross.
But sadly now the boat showed no intention of return
Despite the many ways that Stephen shared his great concern.
But now he knew he could do nothing more but wait and pray
That they would both be reunited on another day.
As time went by, it seemed that Stephen’s grief would never stop
Until, one day, he looked inside the window of a shop
And saw a sad and sorry sight that stopped him walking past:
He recognised the battered boat, with a broken mast.
He saw upon the side of her, she had her own encryption.
“Alice” was the name it said, a beautiful inscription.
He knew at once this was his love, his precious little ship.
He would not rest until he held her close within his grip.
So Stephen told the shopkeeper that she belonged to him
But he just glared back at him looking frighteningly grim.
You see, the owner didn’t want to sell her to a kid
So said to Stephen “Tough, you’ll have to pay two hundred quid!”
But though this was an awful price for him to have to pay
Young Stephen vowed he would return to buy her back some day.
From that day on he sacrificed everything he could
To scrimp and save enough to buy that boat he made of wood.
His thoughts returned to Jesus and the price that he had paid
As, knowing us by name, he was prepared to make the trade.
For just as Alice started life with her own special name
God regards each one of us as special, just the same.
So back went Stephen to the shop (that horrid little shack)
Relieved and glad to pay the price to buy his Alice back.
And when he held her close again he couldn’t help but cry
For Alice was so precious, yes, the apple of his eye.
But Stephen’s boat was filthy and in need of much repair
She needed his attention and his tender loving care
So ceaselessly he cleaned her up, and pledged that he’d restore
His precious work of heart, to even better than before.
Then he refined the paintwork, and he made a brand new flag,
Replacing what had now become an old and tattered rag.
The woodwork all was mended and then polished till it shone
The ugly duckling now had been transformed into a swan!
So now young Stephen understood the lengths that Jesus went
To come to earth to die for us, and just what He had meant
When God had said He made us in His image, from above,
Then bought us, and repaired us to be channels of His love.
He said to God “I loved Alice despite her poor condition,
I knew her, though the damage made her beyond recognition.
I loved her as I first created her by my own hand
Then bought her and restored her. Now I think I understand!”
Then lovingly his Father God, who’d given him his birth
And surrounded him with beauty, when He created earth
Began to reassure young Stephen, so there was no doubt,
Of how much He had longed for him to finally reach out.
“How could you not have realised, you’re perfect in my joy?
My precious work of heart, my child, my special little boy,
Like a mother holds a new-born and is filled with adoration
The thought of being near you lifts me up to pure elation”
“So yes, Stephen, I made you. You were born of my own yearning
I loved you first because of this as you are now discerning.
And then, Stephen, I bought you when you drifted from my side
And loved you more with every drop of blood shed as I died.
But thirdly, how I loved you, when you came back for repair
And let me shape and mend your life with tender loving care.
So now, I’ll closely walk forever with you, hand in hand,
For finally, my precious child, my grace you understand.
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