Easter Is A Great Time For Resolutions

Today’s reading: John 20:1-16

It’s 3:36 a.m. Very dark and quiet in my back yard. But a happily chirping bird just broke the silence for a few seconds outside my window.

Bird’s don’t chirp at this time of day, do they? I guess they do on Easter!

This little miracle happened just as I was upon this part of today’s reading:

“Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.” (Verses 3-4)

Those lines don’t say what sort of emotions Peter and his friend experienced as they ran, but I believe they were excited by the news that Jesus was not in His tomb.

This gives me an idea for how to start this Easter.

I think I’ll switch into my running clothes after my church’s “Sonrise Service” and head down to check on the  birds at Hans Suter Nature Park.  I’ll run excitedly, as I imagine the disciples did. What other way is there to run on Easter?

I’ve not been to Suter park in more than 2 years, but it’s been on my mind a lot lately, now that the widow of its namesake has become the subject of much local gossip.

Pat Suter is legendary around town for her love of birds and wild plants and a general passion for nature. She and I have many mutual friends, but I’ve had only one chat with her in my life. It was a memorable one about three years ago, at that very park — a place where she could be found most mornings.

I say it was memorable, but, being completely ignorant of birds, I can’t recall any of the details she tried to teach me.  What I remember is her giddiness over that day’s arrival of a migrating species. The birds had been a little late that year, and she’d been worried that they’d been frightened away by some man-made changes around the park.  I happened upon her as she saw the first of them finally fly in. The two of us were the only one’s in the park at the time, so I was glad to be there to share her joy.

We talked for nearly 90 minutes (I ended up accidentally missing a breakfast meeting) and I remember being so inspired by Mrs. Suter’s passion that I promised I would devote more time to studying our nature. I said would make it out to the city’s nature parks more often and even attend a birding lecture or two in the coming weeks.

“I look forward to seeing you around. This has been a fun chat,” she said.

And then, of course, I haven’t seen her again. I made it back to that park only two or three more times since — and I’ve not stepped foot in any of the other local birding spots.  I’ve also, of course, not been to a birding lecture yet.

I’m not sure whether Mrs. Suter is still a daily visitor to her park, but my guess is she’s not been there for at least a couple of weeks. These days she stands accused of hitting a bicyclist with her car and quickly leaving the scene.  The details of what happened are still very much in question, but while it waits for answers, the public seems very angry with Mrs. Suter.  I’ve overheard many coffee shop conversations and call-in radio shows about this woman in the last two weeks, and it seems that everyone wants her in jail.

I, for one, am content to let a court decide upon her guilt and any punishment.

I just say God bless this precious woman. He loves her no matter her faults and despite any guilt. And, since that’s the case, it’s time I made good on my promises to her. (I think that’s what my little friend was chirping about this morning.)

Easter is a great time for resolutions, and I intend to be hopefully resolute today amidst my celebrations. This will not be the only promise I will make cheerfully to God today, but it’s a great one to start with:  I will spend more time running excitedly to see the birds at Hans Suter Wildlife park in the coming weeks, and I’ll find a bird lecture or two to attend.

Thanks be to God for the eternal gift of Easter!