What Scuffy the Tugboat Taught Me...

Hello friend!  I am back today in our discussion on influence with some super-spiritual reading material, the beloved Little Golden Book, Scuffy the Tugboat and His Adventures Down the River by Gertrude Crampton.  While I recognized it from my childhood, I honestly was not familiar with the story until I read it one day, several years ago, to my own children.  I read it once to them at bedtime and that was it--I secretly ducked out of their room with it in hand and tucked it away in my spiritual journey suitcase for me to treasure in my own journey with the Lord!  What??! Okay...let me explain....

This story is about Scuffy, a little toy boat who is sad and "cross" and feels as though he was made for "bigger things."  So one day, the kind toy shop owner takes him home to sail in the bathtub with his little boy.  But, no...Scuffy is not content floating around in the bathtub and instead dreams of sailing upon the mighty waters like an ocean liner!  So, the next day, the kind man and young boy take Scuffy to a brook and let him sail.  And to Scuffy's delight, he goes on to sail quickly away to bigger waters that were made for him!  Feeling proud, he ventures into more "important" waters like rivers (wide enough for bridges!)...and on into the sea.  But soon, he realizes that there is no end to the sea and all he wants is to be back with the kind man and his little boy!  Once safely home, the book ends with Scuffy in the bathtub saying, "This is the place for a red-painted tugboat.  And this is the life for me."

In this little book I could see MY life at that point in time.  I could see MY discontentedness with the ordinary and mundane situation I was in, staying at home with my little ones, with the desire to do "more important" things for myself, others, and for the Lord.  Fortunately, in the ensuing years since I first read this book, the Lord has given me such a joy and deep-rooted satisfaction and contentment in my work mothering these precious little ones.  No longer do I yearn for "bigger" waters--I understand more now than ever that this "bathtub" is just the perfect place for me!

Just recently I reread another little gem, this time a little book on prayer by Madame Guyon that I had read in college.  Imagine my delight when I ran across this passage...

"If you want to reach the ocean, sail a boat down the river.  Eventually, without exertion or effort, you will find the greater waters."                                         --Experiencing God Through Prayer

Ahhhh....YES!...sounds like Scuffy the Tugboat to me!  If we seek the "bigger waters" out of a spirit of discontent, we will not be pleased with what we find!  But instead, let us be content with our present position, albeit humble and seemingly small and non-influential.  God will use it and develop it as He sees fit and in His timing and we will find JOY in the journey!