30 Days of Gratitude – Day 8:
Express gratitude to a friend who has been a good example to you.

As you prepare for a test, you can often find sample questions to give you an example of the types of questions that will be asked. The result of working through these samples is very similar to the focus for today: one person being an example for another.

1. Having an example prepares you for what’s ahead. A friend who is a good example shares what he or she has learned so that you will be the better for it.

2. Having an example gives you a resource to return to when confusion or uncertainty arise. That good-example friend is there to talk you through it or walk with you through it, using the unchangeable truths from God’s Word as the “answer key.”

3. Having an example doesn’t guarantee success. Your friend may be a good example to you by helping you not just to see that failures happen, but his or her best example may be of how to accept the grace that comes when sin or failure seem to be the “wrong answer” you selected. That person shows you what it looks like to get back up again, even more prepared to face the next success or failure that will be on your path.

A friend like this has the effect of iron sharpening iron, making you a stronger, wiser, better prepared believer, ready to take the tests that face you on your journey, because your friend pointed us to the unfailing truths of God as the correct answer!

Take time today to call, e-mail, send a card to, or buy a gift for the individual you chose to thank for being a good example to you!