Happy Five Minute Friday time.

The assignment this week was, quite frankly, challenging. The FMF prompt was LOYALTY, which should be easy peasy. But my mind kept wandering off in different directions {that’s why I call them free range thoughts} and trying to herd them into a coherent five minutes was quite a challenge.

I wonder if my fellow writers at Kate place (http://katemotaung.com/2016/08/25/five-minute-friday-loyal/) had the same challenge. After this post, I’ll take a peek at the offerings from my writing soulmates. You should check them out as well. Or, better yet, try your hand at focused, unscripted writing for just five minutes. And share on Kate’s website.

But for now, the timer is set for five minutes, so let’s see what kind of a herdsman I am. GO …

Yogi Berra had a way with words. Consider this … “When you’re part of a team, you stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they’d do the same for you.”

Yogi was a pug from my neighboring Montclair, NJ, who made his mark in the baseball world. As sharp as he was as a professional athlete {one of my growing up heroes as catcher for the New York Yankees, my profession for the Chevy Midgets}, he wasn’t polished. He was rough around the edges. But he had that “it” factor. He saw the world through the lens of common sense. Ah, the good old days.

He is, actually, completely right. Loyalty isn’t just a word. It’s  a commitment. It takes “me” out of team sports {or activities} and replaces it with “we.” It’s a way of life. It’s understanding there is a greater purpose.

We see that loyalty expressed everyday. We are {hopefully} loyal to those around us … our God, our selves, our families, our friends, our workmates … STOP

… and, yes, even our government and country.

By the way, as an aside in this political season, we’re told precisely that. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1 (NIV). And in America we have the opportunity to choose our governing authorities. Vote responsibly!

Getting back to the topic, loyalty means we stand up for God, our selves, or families, our friends, our workmates and our governmental leaders. We don’t run away or abandon them when things get tough. We rally behind them when they’re in a slump because we expect them to rally behind us when we’re in a slump. And we’ve all been in slumps!

That’s it for this week. But before I leave, I was also reminded of a recent values.com ad that sums up Yogi’s {and mine} point.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: What if we said yes to our children and no to overtime at work.