What Friends Are For
When most people hear the name "Ringo Starr", the first thing that comes to mind (if they know who that is) is that he was the drummer for The Beatles. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is that he was the first narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and even starred (no pun intended) as Mr. Conductor on the PBS show Shining Time Station at one point, a role that later went on to...George Carlin. That's pretty incredible - the first two narrators for a little kid's show were a member of the Beatles and a comedian most famous for 7 words that can't be said on television, let alone a little kid's show. But I digress...
Going back to Ringo Starr the drummer, while John Lennon and Paul McCartney did most of the singing for the Beatles, there are a few songs that Starr was the lead vocals on. One of those songs "With A Little Help from My Friends". The title explains the song pretty well - Ringo sings about how he gets by with a help from his friends. He also mentions in the song how he gets high with a little help from his friends, but that's another story.
Getting high aside, there is truth to Ringo Starr's song, that we get by with a little help from our friends. As you have probably guessed, that's what today's topic is about. But before talking about friends, it is important to recognize that it's not just our friends that help us get by either - family plays a huge role as well. And I truly can't imagine living a day without God. From beginning to end, He will always be with me. I may not always feel close to Him, but I always know that He is with me.
As I've gotten older, I've come to understand the importance of good friends more and more. A lot of that may be attributed to the fact that I don't have any immediate family nearby, let alone in the same time zone. So while I certainly can call family and talk to them, it isn't the same as being a short drive away. Thankfully though, my friends are - even with the crazy Houston traffic. And I'm incredibly thankful for that. More so than I can put in words.
When things are going well, it is easy to take friends (and life in general) for granted. When everything is going well, friends may fall into the peripheral because they're always there. We don't necessarily have to worry about counting on them because everything is going well and because we hope that everything will keep going well for the foreseeable future. However, there are times in life when things don't go well. And those are the times that we need our friends the most. Those are also the times that we appreciate our friends the most.
Having a support group is one of those things that you don't realize how important it is until you need it. However, it's a pretty special feeling when you need that support and realize that you have one greater than you could have imagined. Over the past few weeks, I've come to truly realize how blessed and lucky I am to have such great friends - friends that I can watch and talk college football with, friends that I can grab dinner with, friends that I can go for a jog with, friends that will listen and offer advice, friends that ask how I'm doing, friends that pray with me - heck, even friends that will go to TJ Maxx with me and help me pick out a "TJ Maxx outfit". And all of this has been going on when I've been struggling and haven't always felt like myself. If you've got friends that will do things like watch Wisconsin football with you or go to TJ Maxx with you when you've been down, you've got some special friends. Don't ever let go of those friends. It's what friends are for.
There's a lot of songs and TV shows about friends - there's literally a show that's called Friends. The theme song for that show has some good lines about friendship, about how they'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour or how they'll be they're for you because you're they're for them, too. The reminder that those friends exist outside of a fictional coffee shop in New York City is really comforting. Or take the classic Toy Story song "You've Got a Friend in Me" - when the road looks rough ahead, remember what your old pal said: that you've got a friend in them. And that "friend" isn't just a cowboy doll with a snake in his boot. But it is a friend that will be by your side.
Truly, truly, having a support group makes all the difference. Make sure to have one yourself. Whether that's friends through work, church, a club, etc. - it matters less where they're from and more that they're there for you. My hope is that I can be as good of a friend to my friends as they have been to me. I hope that I can be by their side when times are rough It's what are friends are for.
To close (and kind of come full circle), I am reminded of the scene and song in The Jungle Book when Mowgli is alone and upset and gets serenaded by four vultures resembling The Beatles that they're his friends (Fun fact: when making the film, it is said that Disney tried to get The Beatles to voice the vultures, but it didn't work out). One line in the song mentions that "When you're alone who comes around to pluck you up are down?" For Mowgli, it was four vultures with British accents. It's really encouraging to reflect and see that I have friends in my life that will do the same for me. To all of my friends that have been by my side: Thank You. It truly means a lot.
Ringo Starr was right. I get by with a little help with my friends. And I go to TJ Maxx and Popeyes with them.
Going back to Ringo Starr the drummer, while John Lennon and Paul McCartney did most of the singing for the Beatles, there are a few songs that Starr was the lead vocals on. One of those songs "With A Little Help from My Friends". The title explains the song pretty well - Ringo sings about how he gets by with a help from his friends. He also mentions in the song how he gets high with a little help from his friends, but that's another story.
Getting high aside, there is truth to Ringo Starr's song, that we get by with a little help from our friends. As you have probably guessed, that's what today's topic is about. But before talking about friends, it is important to recognize that it's not just our friends that help us get by either - family plays a huge role as well. And I truly can't imagine living a day without God. From beginning to end, He will always be with me. I may not always feel close to Him, but I always know that He is with me.
As I've gotten older, I've come to understand the importance of good friends more and more. A lot of that may be attributed to the fact that I don't have any immediate family nearby, let alone in the same time zone. So while I certainly can call family and talk to them, it isn't the same as being a short drive away. Thankfully though, my friends are - even with the crazy Houston traffic. And I'm incredibly thankful for that. More so than I can put in words.
When things are going well, it is easy to take friends (and life in general) for granted. When everything is going well, friends may fall into the peripheral because they're always there. We don't necessarily have to worry about counting on them because everything is going well and because we hope that everything will keep going well for the foreseeable future. However, there are times in life when things don't go well. And those are the times that we need our friends the most. Those are also the times that we appreciate our friends the most.
Having a support group is one of those things that you don't realize how important it is until you need it. However, it's a pretty special feeling when you need that support and realize that you have one greater than you could have imagined. Over the past few weeks, I've come to truly realize how blessed and lucky I am to have such great friends - friends that I can watch and talk college football with, friends that I can grab dinner with, friends that I can go for a jog with, friends that will listen and offer advice, friends that ask how I'm doing, friends that pray with me - heck, even friends that will go to TJ Maxx with me and help me pick out a "TJ Maxx outfit". And all of this has been going on when I've been struggling and haven't always felt like myself. If you've got friends that will do things like watch Wisconsin football with you or go to TJ Maxx with you when you've been down, you've got some special friends. Don't ever let go of those friends. It's what friends are for.
There's a lot of songs and TV shows about friends - there's literally a show that's called Friends. The theme song for that show has some good lines about friendship, about how they'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour or how they'll be they're for you because you're they're for them, too. The reminder that those friends exist outside of a fictional coffee shop in New York City is really comforting. Or take the classic Toy Story song "You've Got a Friend in Me" - when the road looks rough ahead, remember what your old pal said: that you've got a friend in them. And that "friend" isn't just a cowboy doll with a snake in his boot. But it is a friend that will be by your side.
Truly, truly, having a support group makes all the difference. Make sure to have one yourself. Whether that's friends through work, church, a club, etc. - it matters less where they're from and more that they're there for you. My hope is that I can be as good of a friend to my friends as they have been to me. I hope that I can be by their side when times are rough It's what are friends are for.
To close (and kind of come full circle), I am reminded of the scene and song in The Jungle Book when Mowgli is alone and upset and gets serenaded by four vultures resembling The Beatles that they're his friends (Fun fact: when making the film, it is said that Disney tried to get The Beatles to voice the vultures, but it didn't work out). One line in the song mentions that "When you're alone who comes around to pluck you up are down?" For Mowgli, it was four vultures with British accents. It's really encouraging to reflect and see that I have friends in my life that will do the same for me. To all of my friends that have been by my side: Thank You. It truly means a lot.
Ringo Starr was right. I get by with a little help with my friends. And I go to TJ Maxx and Popeyes with them.
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