Elusive

It’s a weird Easter. But at least the ocean is still there, and I’m lucky enough to be able to walk to it. So on this drizzly afternoon I did, and joined (always at a safe distance and with a mask on) the few other folks out walking or running. As usual, I was drawn off the path, closer to the water, to see what I could see. Not a lot, today, as the tide was pretty high. Still, I climbed out on some rocks and when I looked up there was an otter maybe 15-20 feet in front of me, doing flips. By the time I got my phone camera on, it had disappeared. I guessed where it might surface, and was lucky enough to catch this picture. By the time I got to the other side of the rock, it had disappeared again. I pointed the camera where I thought it would surface next, but it surprised me by going back the other way, quickly, and further away from shore, so I just had a glimpse. And then, after I had given up getting a good picture, another glimpse.

Often, when I’m out, I catch a glimpse of something. Is it an otter? Seal? Kelp? Or just a shadow, or a trick of the light? Sometimes it’s hard to know.

Because it’s Easter, when I saw that otter appear and disappear today, I thought about the resurrection, and how only a few people saw the resurrected Jesus, at unexpected times and in unexpected places. Even if they were sure of what they saw, he was gone, all too soon.

I’m not really sure what it means, right now. Other than resurrection can seem elusive. What does it really mean? What does it look like? Am I really seeing it, or is it just a trick of the light? Will it stick around, or is it just temporary?

I trust in resurrection - in the power of love over death - as much as I trust that the otters are out there, even when I can‘t see them. And I will be on the lookout every day for signs of new life around me. I hope you will, too.