Love. Believe. Smile. Pray. Don’t pay no ‘tention to kangaroos.
Ray and I sat up late with our mentors Doug and Cora Beal last Friday night. Ray wisely asked them to share the secret to having such a wonderful extended family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
The words I had heard the night before were comforting and reassuring and I wanted to be sure that I understood and remembered them well, so before breakfast the next morning, I summarized what I had heard to be sure. After I mentioned four key words — love, believe, smile, pray — Doug reminded me of one more thing: “Don’t pay no ‘tention to kangaroos.”
The kangaroo quote refers to a commercial advertising Middle Tennessee’s Purity Dairy company. The commercial aired on television when Ray and I were children. When Doug brought it up on Friday night, we both immediately remembered it.
Ray and I took their advice deeply to heart. It is rock solid. Here are verses to prove it.
LOVE
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another,
because love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
BELIEVE
And without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
SMILE
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:4-5
PRAY
Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t pay no ‘tention to kangaroos.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own,
is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Love. Believe. Smile. Pray. Don’t pay no ‘tention to kangaroos. I think I can remember that. Now my challenge is to do it every day.