How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother is my all time favorite show! Though I did not start watching it until it's 8th season was released, I have seen the whole show (all 208 episodes) twice. Some of my favorite episodes I have seen 5 or 6 times! I never tire of the characters, story, or humor. When I talk about the show, you would think they are my friends in real life (because they are). One time when I was talking to someone about favorite shows, and they said they had never seen it. My wife Barbee overheard and said "Uh-oh. That's like a sin in Austin's book".

For those who don't know (which is nobody here 😉), How I Met Your Mother is a love story told in reverse. A father tells his two teen kids the story of his life with his four best friends leading up to him meeting their mother. The story is told through flashbacks as he narrates from time to time. Season 1 starts with Ted (the father) being there to see his friends Marshall and Lily get engaged. Inspired by the big step in their relationship, Ted decides that he is done dating casually, and wants to find the future "Mrs. Mosby" and settle down with a family. From there, we see and hear about all the events in hilarious, heartfelt, and excruciating detail that lead up to the moment when Ted meets and then falls in love with the kid's mother.

There are many reasons why I consider this my favorite show. The characters for one are very realistic, though Barney may be a bit of an exaggeration lol. Ted is a hopeless romantic, who wants nothing more than to enjoy every day with his friends and find that perfect girl to spend the rest of his life with. Marshall and Lily are two of Ted's friends that he met back in college. The two are probably one of the best TV couples ever and are hilarious and adorable to watch. Barney, is the whole gang's friend who they question why they hang out with at times, but can't help but love. He is a total womanizer with seemingly unlimited amounts of money. Ask him what he does for a living and his response will be "haha, PLEASE." And then we have Robin. Robin is the woman Ted falls for at the beginning of the show, and even though they broke up, he can't help but want her back no matter how many times they mess it up. They become awkward friends for a time, then Robin and Lily become best friends and Robin eventually becomes one of the gang. Her personality is phenomenal. She is from Canada (which is frequently made fun of throughout the series) and was raised as if she were a boy. So she is tough, independent, and impossible not to love.

By the end of the shows run (don't worry no spoilers), we have spent 9 years viewing and being a part of their lives. It's amazing to see the changes that take place in each of the characters over 9 years. From their personalities to their values, and even their outlook on life. Everything develops in a very engaging way that I love taking part in. As a viewer, you truly feel like one of the gang. You are with them through the highs and lows of their lives, laughing and crying alongside them. Whether it's a time of complete joy or utter heartbreak, I love growing closer to the characters as they grow closer to each other.

I also love this show for many of its great quotes. All throughout the series, there are some very profound statements made by each character. I've narrowed down some of my favorites. At first, I was just going to list them, then I read through them all and thought to myself, no, I really want to break these down and talk about them; so here we go!

Let' start with some Ted quotes as he's who the show is all about. At one point he says: "Sometimes things have to fall apart to make way for better things". I love how real this quote is. Everyone goes through trials when their world seems to be falling apart around them. It's so easy in those moments to forget that God is in control of our lives, and remember that He will use those moments to strengthen in our faith, giving our lives more testimonies to His presence with us and work in our lives.

This next one he says at a different point in the series, but I think it ties in well with the first one (I censored it a bit lol). "If you're scared, then you're not taking a chance. If you're not taking a chance then what the *heck* are you doing anyway". This is such a challenging quote. Many people, like the first quote says, worry so much about the world collapsing around them, that they aren't willing to take a chance and step out in their faith. Just look at all the people in the Bible who took a chance and stepped out in their faith. Look how God used their willingness to be a disciple of Him. Take a chance and step out for Jesus.

This next one is one of my favorites from the whole show. It's another Ted quote from one of his narrating voice-overs that says: "Kids, you can't hold on to the past. Because no matter how tight you hold on, it's already gone." I always try to remember these words in my own life. Yes, the past, be it good or bad, has made you who you are today, but don't ever let that hold you back. Don't hold on to the things that could hurt your future, or that you feel God calling you to move on from. No matter how tightly you hold on, it's gone and that's okay.

Another quote I love comes from Marshall. He says: "That's life, you know, you never end up where you thought you wanted to be." I really like this because it's very accurate to the outlook we have on life. We often think we know where we want to be, and what we want to do, having our lives totally planned out. But God has his own plan for our life. We may think our decisions will help us get to where we want to be, but God has a better plan that will get us to where He wants us to be. The result of His plan may not bring us to wherever we thought we would end up, but once we are there, we know it is right.

Next, I have a couple of Robin Quotes. The first is: "If you keep giving up on people so quickly, you're going to miss out on something great." Living like this can be tough for some people, because it's really hard to give someone a second, third, even fourth chance when they keep letting you down. But like Jesus and His ministry here on earth, we can't give up on people, we must forgive them just like Christ forgives us every day. Yes, there are those who we may not see the fruits of our labor in, but there are many others who just take time. And eventually, something great will come out of the work that you put into investing in someone else's life.

Another Robin favorite of mine is: "The future is scary, but you can't just run back to the past because it's familiar." This one is similar to Ted's post about holding on to the past. Things from our past may not be inherently bad, but they also may not be the best for us. So it's important to remember to be forward thinking with how God wants us to react to different situations we encounter. It may be easy to run back to a familiar place in our past, but often that is not the best option. God wants us to continue living in a forward pursuit of Him and His will for our lives.

Ted has one other quote that I really like about love. The way he uses it is meaningful in looking at how we love others, but I think it can be looked at in another way too. He says: "When you love someone you just... you, you don't stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes and call you crazy. Even then. Especially then." I agree, that this is how we should love the most important people in our lives, but I also think this quote applies well to how we show our love and adoration for God. Since the beginning of the Bible, followers of God have been mocked for their beliefs by the world. Those are the times when it is most important to love God, no matter how crazy we are told our faith seems to the world. God calls us to stand up with Him in times of trial and persecution, and He rewards that steadfast faith.

Lastly, we have a quote from Lily, she says at one point to Ted (who is an architect): "You can't design your life like a building. It doesn't work that way. You just have to live it... and it'll design itself." I don't totally agree with the part that says life will design itself as if you're along for the ride. But I do like the overall message of the quote and how it reminds us that we may think we are in complete control of our lives and how every detail will play out, but we aren't. That is up to God, and we must believe in and seek His will every day, trusting that His plan is what is best for us.

Now before I finish up, I do want to mention that this isn't a 100% "clean" show. There is a lot of crude humor in the first few seasons, but as the series goes on it does mature with the characters focusing less on that aspect. There's plenty of "dad jokes" and goofy humor to balance it all out.

Overall (if it's not clear already lol) I love this show! I definitely give it a 10 out of 10! I even liked the "controversial" ending, for those who have seen the whole show. I enjoyed the alternate ending too, but I totally understand why they ended it the way they did; especially after watching the show a second time! Thanks for sticking around through what turned out to be a long post; but hey, a 9 season show deserves a good in-depth discussion right!? I hope you enjoyed it!

God bless! 😃
Austin