By John Telfer
I once heard a wonderful story
So, I will try to convert it to verse,
It was about a shepherd boy called Jarrod,
Who walked on crutches since birth.
Now Jarrod was minding the flock one day
When three wise men came riding by,
On their way to witness the Christ birth,
Guided by the brightest star in the sky.
Jarrod was enthused by their story
That a child Messiah was about to be born,
So, he set out to witness this miracle,
On his crutches, he left at dawn.
Jarrod struggled over mountainous tracks
Till his knees were all battered and torn,
He was determined to see this Christ child,
To see the manger, in which he was born.
At last Jarrod arrived in Bethleham
Wearily dragged along by his crutches,
And as he reverently approached the stable,
He thought a miracle was within his clutches.
But the stable stood silent and empty,
Jarrod realised he was much too late,
For he had missed the birth of Jesus,
Who had been born on an earlier date,
As he wept in disappointment,
Jarrod placed his hands in the Manger’s hay,
When all at once his face lit up,
As he felt the warmth where Jesus did lay.
Now Jarrod’s heart began to swell
As he heard a choir of Angels singing,
For he knew the baby Jesus was born,
When he left, church bells were ringing.
Jarrod was elated as he headed back home,
For he now knew the Messiah had laid there,
He would tell the villagers back home,
Jesus was there, though the manger was bare.
As he journeyed back over the rugged land
He knew that to him Jesus had been kind,
And it was not until he was halfway home,
He realised he had left his crutches behind.
– Contributed by John Telfer.
