“A Letter to my Eighth Grade Self” – that’s a journal topic I assign my twelfth grade English students every year. I love reading these entries – insightful, funny, sarcastic.  My students are brilliant!

One theme that I read over and over again, every year, is “Don’t get caught up in the drama.” These 17 and 18 year olds realize that they had wasted some valuable time getting worked up over issues that really don’t matter at all.

I think that’s something we are all guilty of – from those in middle school to those in middle age. Think back 5 years — do you even remember the stuff that made you mad? I remember getting upset. Really upset. But what was it that got me upset? Who was involved? No idea. Even though it was, I’m sure, VERY important then, it is not important now. Unless, in my anger, I lost a friend or hurt someone I loved. But I don’t recall anything good coming from getting unrighteously angry.

What do I remember when I think back 5 years? I remember fun times with my husband and kids. I remember what God was teaching me then. I remember friendships that impacted me. I remember places I visited, books I read. You know, the important stuff. The rest – whatever it was – just doesn’t matter now.

So how should that affect today? I need to ditch the drama. I need to let go of petty things that make me mad, petty people who want to steal my joy, petty issues that cause me to lose my focus. I need to spend my energy on what matters – on WHO matters: my Savior, my family, my friends and my students.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” ~Phil. 4:8