The Power of Association

” Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.”- I cor 15:33

Associations are so powerful. I am a product of associations which i’ve been involved with over the years. I’ve met with people who started out with wrong associations but by conscious endeavour, took their future in their hands and changed their circle of influence by changing their friends. A man can extrapolate where his life is going by merely looking at the people he constantly spends time with. An association one gets involved with without one’s choice is the family to which one is born and raised; and it goes a long way in determining one’s core personality. I was raised by strict parents, but it paid off.

Within my immediate family, I had my elder sister whose life modelled what I unconsciously followed, we attended the same primary, secondary and University; we shared our victories, triumphs, failures and challenges. Our friendship affected my way of thinking and so influenced my choice of friends as I grew up.

I acknowledge as I thankfully remember a special group of friends I had in my University days, we called ourselves “GPs”; we were in the same class, shared the same values, had discussions as well as prayer meetings together. We also helped each other to see the picture of our desired future. We regularly spent time speaking into existence our desired future. Today, we’re all happily married, doing well in our careers and not far from what we saw ourselves as haven achieved by now – Funto Olude, Sunkanmi Dele-Ojomo, Titi Adeyemo, Jumoke Adams, Yetunde
Adigun, Foluso Ilevbare and Gbemi Olaniyan. You ladies made my stay in Pharmacy school enjoyable. I also have some friends who mean so much to me – the Ogunfayos, Mogajis and Asaolus; you are real friends. I appreciate you.

I’ve been opportuned to be associated with people who have challenged me to improve myself, to be dissatisfied with the status quo; Chief among them is my Sweetheart, lover, husband, father of my children and best friend, Adeolu; He’s been my friend since I was in Secondary School, he has played the greatest human role in my life. He listened, he smiled, he believed in me when I didn’t even know our friendship was going to be ‘upgraded’. He took and still takes my friends as his own. He’s got such a contagious, not forceful influence on anyone he’s associated with.

Lastly, to Jehovah who rules and reigns in the affairs of men. My association with Him is the reason why i see a flash of light in my path whenever i’m about entering a pit. He so amazes me with the way he orchestrates man’s life to meet certain people at some time, to narrowly miss some and to severe relationships with some others when that chapter is due for closure. He’s the master planner who had our lives all worked out before we were all born.}