I have been teaching for 34 years, and in that amount of time you begin to accumulate some stuff. It helps that I moved a few times in my career. When I moved from one school to another, I tried to get rid of some stuff. But I have been at East Davidson for 18 years and I have collected quite a bit more.

            I was trying to put some of my materials back in the filing cabinet today and they didn’t want to go. Those files came out of that drawer, and they should go back. I looked through the folders I was trying to stuff in the drawer and discovered some very old papers. I decided they needed to go. That started me. There were some other files that could go, too.

            I discovered a Windows 95 install guide with the disks. I dug a little deeper and discovered stuff from Elkin and North Stanly in the cabinet. The trash can was starting to get fuller. I brought some things home. I found a file about taking my students to New York City, which had to be over 25 years old. Then I found…wait for it…this will determine how old you really are…some purple ditto handouts! Do you remember those?

            That was one drawer in the file cabinet. I am afraid of what I will discover in the rest of the drawers. Thankfully, I can take lots of stuff with me on a flash drive. I don’t need to go through that stuff and throw anything away unless it takes up more room than I have on the flash drive.

Now that I think about it, I might need a bigger drive, as I have lots of digital photos that I want to download, too. I take lots of DECA pictures when we are on trips. I have boxes of pictures, including officer installations, employer appreciations, district, state, and national DECA trips, and of course, the trip to New York City. I can’t start looking at pictures because that trip down memory lane would take way too long. There are some wonderful memories of all those DECA trips.

            I can’t bring all that stuff home; there is nowhere to put it. This afternoon as I was going through everything and this evening as I write about it…the memories are sweet and powerful. I accomplished much in my tenure, including writing state curriculum and promoting CTE in the community through creating circulars for the paper. I found a student handbook that a principal asked me to update. There were some notes on the website that I created for Elkin High School. That was back when everything had to be done through typing the code.

            These pleasant memories are coming back like a flood. We store so much away in our minds, it is good to reach back and play the good memories over again. We need to learn how to erase all the bad memories. One thing we all need to work on is filling our minds with good things, especially scripture. I have a hard time remembering verses exactly as they appear in my Bible, but I know where they are. I know if they appear on the left or right side of the page. If it’s one I have used often, it will be underlined or highlighted.

            The Bible is full of promises for those who believe in God. It offers us wisdom on how to live our daily lives. There are some great stories there to encourage us. There are people in the Bible who made big mistakes, and yet God loved and used them for His kingdom. Many people desire to know God; well, there is lots about Him in those pages. The Bible can guide you as you navigate your way through life’s troubles. The Bible offers you hope in times of darkness, grace in times of failure, peace in times of turmoil, and unconditional love. God expects us to grow, mature, and change, but He is right there to help us through the process.

            I encourage you to grow and stretch your faith as you spend more time in God’s word. Everything you need for a successful life is hidden in those pages. It’s hidden for a reason. God wants us to dig it out and discover the promises and encouragement for ourselves. God deeply desires to bless us because we are His children. We have to do our part through prayer, reading His word, and most of all, applying His word to our lives.

Contact Doug at doug@dougcreamer.com