This time of year often brings back memories of Spring canoeing.

I remember idle hours spent drifting around meandering bends, occasionally interspersed with the technical challenge of a rapid - those places where the terrain becomes steep and big rocks pop up turning the water white and sending it forward like a jet. 

At the end of those rapids a tranquil oasis can often be found called an ‘eddy.’ This is an undisturbed part of a river shielded by a rock or log where the water is placid and calm. Canoers frequently seek out eddys to regroup or rest from the chaos of shooting the rapids. Eddys are places to get your bearings and re-center.

I wonder if that’s what the newly resurrected Jesus had in mind when he kept re-appearing to his disciples? 

In our Bible readings last weekend and this, he made a big deal about wishing his haggard followers ‘Peace.’ Perhaps Jesus was creating an eddy for them to re-center around who they were and what they were doing.

In fact, one of our biggest challenges today is finding eddys - those places where we can chill and open ourselves up to the kind of centering that needs to happen for us to truly be present to ourselves and the world.

Jesus kept wishing his disciples peace because this is not our default setting, it’s something we need to work on with intent and discipline.

Where are our eddys? How important are they - and what are we doing to spend more time there?