And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:7 (ESV)
This morning, as we approach another day in shelter mode, my mind goes to my son’s 8th grade Science Fair and a student’s booth on The Order of Chaos. Hard to believe, just a few weeks ago, the entire grade and their parents gathered in the cafeteria.
I approached the teenage boy and told him, “I love your topic.” The student nervously shifted his weight. “I could show you the formula,” he said, “but you wouldn’t understand it. Chaos theory is crazy hard to figure out. It shows how even random stuff has order. It’s like the Butterfly Effect, a small change in one place makes a big change somewhere else. Everything affects everything. A butterfly flaps its wings and something like an earthquake happens on the other side of the world. It’s all connected. We’re all connected.”
“So there’s a formula to figure out chaos?” I asked.
“Sure is,” the teenager said, “but it’s way beyond what I can understand.”
I walked away liking the irony of an order to everything, even chaos—and learning about it from a boy who took it to heart even though he didn’t grasp the logic.
Lately, like everyone else, a feeling of chaos has come over me. Uncertainties abound: Will my sons go back to school? Will my oldest graduate? Will we get sick? Will there be work? Food? Toilet paper? Will I be able to visit my mom? And everything does affect everything else. What each of us does matters, the butterfly effect seems more real than ever. We are all connected.
And although sometimes it may feel like there are more questions than answers, there is comfort in knowing there really is a formula to bring order out of chaos. There is a peace I find by quieting my mind and focusing on the verse above, Philippians 4:7. Faith will get me through this.
Heavenly Father, when uncertainties cloud my mind with worry, remind me that You are the key to finding peace.
