I’ve written multiple posts about the varying degrees of friendship in my life. Different friend types, which friendships to focus on, the importance of old friends in your life, the joy of old friends, and probably more that I didn’t want to find the links to…

Friendships have played a huge role in my life and when I talk to people that either don’t have good friendships, and especially people that never had solid friends, I wonder how on earth they made it where they are.

God’s work through my family is clearly the biggest influence on where my life is now. Each member of my family has impacted my life in huge ways, and I know that I wouldn’t be where I am without each one of those impacts.

Beyond that, however, there are dozens, if not hundreds of friendships that have also contributed heavily to who I am and how I interact with the world. Some friends have come and gone in my life. Friends that I thought would be close forever, or at least play a larger role in much of my life, I barely talk to now. Others that I have been friends with for years and years continue to be close advocates and wise counselors in my life.

When I first started dating my girlfriend about 2 months ago, one of the first things I did was contact all of my close friends who were couples, including my sisters and their husbands. I talked to between 15 and 20 different couples simply asking advice and seeking the things they were glad they did and the things they wished they had done differently. Being able to have so many people who are not only willing, but eager to share and help in my life has been one of the largest blessings I can imagine.

I think again to people who don’t have this growing up. People who feel like they have to depend only on themselves and that they are the best decision-maker. There is so much wisdom to be gained from listening to the advice of others. Even when the advice is bad, when you have enough influencers, you can start to put together your own thoughts from the input of many. As I’ve quoted many times before, “Chew the meat, spit out the bones” when it comes to hearing advice.

I sure do appreciate the friend’s God has blessed me with and I couldn’t imagine not having their influence on my life.