Encourage Me: Grateful

Laughter is a great way for me to relax, and take my world into perspective. I can always make room in my life for one of God’s sweetest gifts to me. (Job 8:21, Psalms 126:2, Ecclesiastes 3:4).

Golden Girls is a situational comedy (sitcom) that makes me smile, chuckle, and feel good, which I always need in my world. Possibly, you may have viewed the television (TV) show when it originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, or maybe you currently view it in rerun status on one of the many channels that carry it.

Golden Girls centers on four older women who share a home in Miami, FL. The all-female ensemble consists of the characters of the level-headed Dorothy Zbornak (played by Bea Arthur); her blunt Sicilian mother Sophia Petrillo (played by Estelle Getty); the naïve St. Olafian Rose Nylund (played by Betty White); and the sexual Southern belle Blanche Devereaux (played by Rue McClanahan).

Many people are familiar with some part of the Golden Girls theme song, “Thank You for Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold. If you are not familiar with the message of this song, please take a few minutes to read my revised version below.

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
your heart is true you're a pal and a confidant

I'm not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow

And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say,
“Thank you for being a friend”

If it's a car you lack
I'd surely buy you a Cadillac
Whatever you need, anytime of the day or night

I'm not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow

And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it's hard to hear
I will stand real close and say,
“Thank you for being a friend”

And when we die and float away
Into the night, the Milky Way
You'll hear me call, as we ascend
I'll see you there, then once again
“Thank you for being a friend”

Did you know the book of Proverbs says a great deal about friendship? Here is my summary:

1. Proverbs 17:17 - Friends love each other during both good and bad times.

2. Proverbs 18:24 - For you to have a friend, you must show yourself friendly.

3. Proverbs 22:24-27 - Don’t be friends with an angry person because that kind of behavior is contagious (just like gambling).

4. Proverbs 27:6 -You can trust that when a friend tells you the painful truth about yourself that they want you to be a better version of yourself.

5. Proverbs 27:9 - A close, sweet friendship refreshes the soul of each friend.

6. Proverbs 27:17 - A friend can make help another friend achieve his (or her) goals.

7. Proverbs 27:19 - Just as your face is the mirror to your heart, friends are the reflection of each other emotionally.

Anyone with a good buddy feels gratitude for this important relationship. The chorus of Ray Boltz anthem, “Thank You,” might be the reaction the beneficiary has to God for the valuable gift of someone’s close friendship:

Thank you for giving to the Lord

I am a life that was changed

Thank you for giving to the Lord

I am so glad you gave

Make a commitment today to invest yourself into the life of someone who desperately needs the unique friendship only you can offer. Being the difference in another human being’s existence will bring you many rewards beyond your wildest imagination. Give it a try sooner (than later).