Hop Hop Bang

 We’ve lived in Australia for over 20 years and this last week our family had a first: Nathan hit a kangaroo.

Now you may think that’s like hitting a dog or a deer, but let me explain.

Kangaroos, when on the move, don’t seem to be looking left and right, or thinking what a speeding vehicle could do to them. Many say they lack the intuitive skills to work out things like this.  I prefer to think that they just love the rhythm of the hop and are gleefully enjoying themselves. And for proof, it looks like they’re always in pairs, thus the old Australian adage, “If once you see a kangaroo, best watch out for number two.”

If you travel very far into the Outback, you can count hundreds of carcasses beside the road, victims of the road trains with their invincible “Roo Bars” attached to the front.  

In Nathan’s case, very fortunately, the kangaroo wasn’t at his highest in his bounce, because then he would have come thru the windshield.  That can be fatal to the passengers.  No, this one, just yards from Nathan’s driveway, came low, taking out both headlights, driving the front bumper into the radiator, and doing thousands of dollars of damage. He didn’t have “Roo Bars” to prevent the damage, but thankfully he had insurance.

And the kangaroo?  He got up, looked around, and hopped away, either in search of an aspirin or else … well, we won’t think about that. Nathan took it hard, especially since his property has become known as “kangaroo friendly” and we all could envision a little park reserve down off the hill.  We hope this one wasn’t one of the alphas that hold the mob together (that’s the proper term for a bunch of kangaroos, BTW), but things like this come with the territory.

Whereas tourists, including us up till now, think they’re so cute and lovable, and indeed they’re ok on the main, but Aussies, especially farmers, hate them. They eat the grass meant for livestock, and get this………they’re always pregnant (at least the does). The way it works is, there’s an embryo attached to a ‘’baby teat’ inside the mother’s pouch.  This baby is only a couple of inches long and has crawled up from where she/he was born (too much information?). When the joey or older baby, who has his own feeding station in the pouch as well, finally leaves home, (about two years) Junior transfers over to the big sippy cup and the process continues.  Cool?  

I guess the message this week is that stuff happens.  We can’t predict or prevent a lot of it. Very thankfully, this event wasn’t of a tragic nature, but who could have known it would happen?

And yet we can depend on the promise that God is there for all the ups and downs (sorry, my mind is still on Kangaroos, I guess). 

In three weeks, we’re heading for Hawaii for Tony to finish up his Seminary class for this semester.  He’s been teaching from Zoom, and while that satisfied our needs at the time, it left a lot to be desired. I’m sure his students will prefer to have him in person.  After that, we’ll be in the States for a month or so, and then headed back home, although probably not by the direct route, till we find ourselves back in the home and land we love, kangaroos and all.

Thank you for watching in on us.  Remember this verse that sorta says it all this week. 

Psalm 121:5-8

New International Version

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Bless ya, 

Marsha