II Corinthians 8:10-12

New York’s famous tugboats pulling, pushing and otherwise moving mighty mountains of maritime commerce up Buttermilk Channel?
Tugboats exemplify the best of human experience….rugged, dependable, and ready to serve.

Not all water craft are so blest, as not all people are so inclined. For example, some folks are like boats, four varieties coming to mind:
Bumboats, from “boomboats”, when waterborne vendors tied up to a sailing ship’s boom, are in for the short haul. Bumboats leak a good deal, and when the deal’s done, leave.

Rafts, on the other hand, move more or less with the prevailing winds. Whether pulled or pushed, rafts are fairly reliable as they aren’t likely to sink. “Rafters” do the minimum; however, and you’re likely to keep your feet very wet — for the whole voyage.
Sailboat folks follow best in sunny weather. They work well when wind and waves serve their purposes, but when stormy weather rises, they are apt to take the path of least resistance.

Tugboats are in for the high endurance long haul . . . Weather stormy or fair, loads large or small, they are ready to serve, not only when wind and waves are optimal, but during times of severe testing and struggle. Tugboat people work and laugh and love others not only when they feel like it, but when they don’t.

The Apostle Paul wrote a “high endurance” verse in the Christian scriptures that gives anyone sailing orders when faced with hanging on for the long haul:
“And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. (II Corinthians 8:10-12)

Though a working tug doing its job along Governors Island’s eastern shore may not have the awesome splender of lower
Manhattan’s Skyline, I’ll favor the tiny tug that tries, and succeeds as it perseveres with its greatest ability . . . Availability!