I’m thankful to be a Virginia Tech Hokie! (If you’re a Wahoo, please keep reading anyway). It was my privilege to earn a degree in Agricultural Education from VT in 1986 before utilizing it in the classroom for the next 17 years. During my time at Tech, I made many friends and learned many things.
Although Professor Domblewski’s Freshman English was not my favorite course, it did introduce me to new terms and benefited me in many ways. All her red marks on my compositions also improved my writing abilities.
But the term I’m highlighting today did not come from any course. It actually came from other students with whom I roomed, studied, and worked. Although you won’t find it in any dictionary, a coufer is a copy of an old test or exam kept to prepare for future tests by the same instructor. These pre-owned tests were bought, sold, and shared to help students do well on upcoming exams.
For those professors who administered the exact same tests over and over, coufers were invaluable. Even for those who changed their questions a bit, coufers could help one know how to study, what kind of problems to expect, and what concepts or content the instructor valued. While some professors forbade the use of such assets, others encouraged it. Rumor had it that some fraternities had filing cabinets chocked full of such “resources” although I never personally beheld such golden treasuries.
In my years since VT, I’ve often wished there were some coufers for the tests we face in life. Someone has observed that experience is a hard teacher giving the exam first and the lesson later. If only we had some indication of how to study and prepare ahead of time for such challenges that come all of our ways.
Alas, such resources do exist if we chose to avail ourselves of them! First and foremost we have God’s Holy Word, the Bible as an invaluable guide. It not only includes concepts, principles, and commands to instruct us but it also includes many examples of tests other people faced in their experiences. We can read it personally and study it with others in Sunday School and Bible Study. And the greatest Instructor of all, God Himself, encourages the use of this resource!
Individuals such as Adam, Ruth, Abraham, Mary, and Peter all provide examples of tests they faced as well as how they performed. We can learn from their mastery of God’s will as well as their massive mistakes. Since we each face similar tests each day, we would be wise to study the coufers God has inspired and preserved for our benefit. We may not have an entire filing cabinet full, but we do have 66 books that provide for a lifetime of growth and improvement.
Additional coufers we can utilize come from our own past experiences. Whenever we fail one of life’s tests, God often retests us until we master whatever godly habit or quality He wants us to acquire. Our regret at failing to respond generously last week can motivate us to watch for opportunities to do so this week. The pounds we put on last Christmas can remind us to pare it back this year. And so forth.
Other great resources to help us pass life’s tests are other believers. We are blessed to have Christian brothers and sisters who have traveled the same road we’re on and who have faced the same questions and problems. Instead of recreating the wheel on our own and repeatedly failing, why not ask others how they maneuvered in similar situations? Fellow church members and Christian friends are akin to burgeoning file drawers just waiting to be consulted.
Regardless of whether we’re a Hokie, a Wahoo, or neither, as we face life’s trials and tests, let’s utilize all the resources at our disposal to defeat the enemy’s temptations, pass our tests, and successfully complete life’s course. Blessings, George