30 Days of Gratitude – Day 5:
Express gratitude to a widow or widower who encourages others.

We know that the Bible tells us to care for the widows and the fatherless (James 1:27). But what never ceases to amaze me is when I see widows (and widowers) encouraging others! Perhaps it’s because they have been the recipients of similar comfort and encouragement, so they know the joy that it brings. Perhaps it’s because they long for that comfort and encouragement and use that experience to propel them in a direction of helping others so that those individuals don’t have to feel the same way.

Particularly in the case of older widows and widowers, we tend to think that they help others because “they have extra time on their hands” (which is generally an erroneous thought; they are doing everything they used to do, only they are now doing it alone). Look around you. The widows and widowers are often the first to meets others’ needs, because they’ve walked those paths themselves. They demonstrate compassion out of a firsthand understanding. Gratitude is the least we can offer them!

Take time to e-mail, send a card to, or buy a gift for the widow or widower you chose to thank today.

30 Days of Gratitude – Day 4:
Express gratitude to a schoolteacher who made an impact on your life.

They arrive early; they stay late. They spend their weekends attending ball games, concerts, and dramatic productions, cheering on their students and encouraging them outside of the academic arena. Long after others are in bed, they are online, researching new science projects, reading the latest findings on helping students with special needs, or trying to locate a craft idea on Pinterest that won’t cost much but will teach a valuable lesson and stimulate creativity in their students. They have the summer “off,” often spending many hours each week preparing for the coming school year and just as often spending their own money on items they see that will benefit the students when district funding isn’t available.

And they do it because they care, because they are passionate about making a difference, because they embody the truth that teaching goes far beyond the classroom walls. And they deserve our thanks! The old saying is true: “To teach is to touch a life forever.”

Take time today to e-mail, send a card to, or buy a gift for the schoolteacher you chose to thank.

30 Days of Gratitude – Day 2:
Express gratitude to someone over the age of 60 who is a good example.

(By the way, there is nothing magical about the age of sixty; it’s just a good dividing line to say, “Thank someone who is older than a teen and whose experience and wisdom have impacted your life!”)

Good examples aren’t perfect people. They are often those individuals who show you what it looks like to recover, to regroup, to repent, to renew, to reinvent, to revise, to realign, to rewrite, to be restored, and to rejoice. Through their imperfect lives they show you the grace, mercy, and unconditional love of a perfect God. And for doing so, they deserve your thanks.

Take time today to call, e-mail, send a card to, or buy a gift for the recipient of your gratitude in this category.