Memories of my high school Physics teacher working problems on the chalkboard for hours haunted me like PTSD. For a nearsighted girl whose coke-bottle glasses stayed in her pocket more than they stayed on her face, it was a set up for failure. We were supposed to have read the text and do the homework before coming to class, but the dry writing and brain-tangling word problems resulted in a better choice for me: sneak out my bedroom window and climb up on the roof of the hen house to gaze at the moon. I squeaked by the class with a D and a sour taste for the subject.

Fortunately, that changed when I had to teach Physics to my kids during homeschool co-op. The problems still caused nightmares but the concepts were intriguing. Especially, the concept of gravity.

The attractive force that exists between every object that has mass or energy is gravity. It is one of the four universal forces of nature. The other three are the strong and weak nuclear interaction forces, and the electromagnetic force. Of the four, gravity is the only one that draws things together. All the others repel.

Gravity is critically important from the unimaginably large to the unimaginably small. Perhaps most importantly to us, gravity keeps our feet on the ground. It causes rain to fall and tides to ebb and rise. It holds the moon in orbit around the earth, the planets in orbit around the sun, and the stars in their celestial pathways. It holds the Milky Way together. The biggest galaxy cluster known to man, the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, is held together by gravity. Our entire universe is held together by gravity. There are volumes written about gravity, what we know, what we don’t know. Unknowns abound.

My kids are graduated now, either making their own choices or on the verge of doing so. It’s a bit terrifying. Unknowns abound. I hope that the fabric of morals, wisdom and values that Brian and I tried to model and impress upon them holds their thoughts in place and on track. But, realistically, I know, from seeing my own past in the rearview mirror, that life choices and steps taken while in the young adult phase aren’t always in the best orbital pathway. Additionally, our broken world leaves craters that can offset our path around the sun.

How does one balance the excitement of seeing our children become independent with the fear that they will make unwise decisions? How does one gradually relinquish our perceived control without down spiraling into panic? How does one maintain peace, once we know that our kids are indeed their own “people” and have to live their lives as they see fit?

I’ve juggled and struggled with these thoughts in my heart, mind and prayers. In the wanderings of my head, my thoughts turned to the concept of gravity and how it holds our physical world together and seems to reveal a spiritual parallel.

“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him, all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him, all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV) (bold, italics – mine)

In Him, all things hold together. Jesus, Creator of physical gravity, is our spiritual gravity. When things seem to spin out of control, this is what I must remember. His is the hand I grip, the mind I seek, the heart I implore with my prayers and thoughts for the well being of my children. He alone is worthy of that trust. He alone is the one who can provide the spiritual gravity that holds me together. He alone is the One who promises that His children can never be snatched from His hand, for He holds them in His grace. Wayward choices, mistakes, missteps may result in consequences, but His hand holds strong and will prevail. As I trust that the moon will stay in its orbit by a creative force that permeates every cell of the universe, so I must trust that God, my Spiritual Gravity, will manage the orbit my children take and draw them to Himself.

When unknowns abound and fear pushes against my thoughts I will hold onto the One who holds it all together.