As days March on through wind and rain, I'm reminded daily of our weakness apart from Christ Jesus Our Lord and our frailness in the midst of a hurting world, yet in Him, we have joy unspeakable.

My mom (74) has a brain tumor, my grandmother (90) has a bacterial lung infection and my dad (75) has coronary heart disease.  That's something, isn't it?  Yet if you met each of these wonderful people in my life, you would never know that they are facing insurmountable circumstances.

Mom, even after the diagnosis, continues working about 20-30 hours each week managing several businesses. Just this week, she began sharing the load with someone.  Working brings her joy. She's forgetting things a little, but for the most part, she keeps trucking.

My grandmother, Mama Armstrong, has lived by herself for almost 50 years after my grandfather died of cancer. She constantly says, "I think I'm doing pretty good to be an old woman." Daily she climbs stairs and crosses a busy street just to feed the animals in a neighbor's yard.

My diabetic father, who's had 2 open heart surgeries, 5 stents and 4 balloons, drives my mother everywhere right now.  He constantly jokes about his abdominal aneurism and encourages us all to eat more healthy (but will eat a piece of chocolate daily).  He remembers almost everything, but just doesn't tell anyone about it.

Each one of these pillars in my life are facing new circumstances I knew they would one day, but they are all so joyful in the midst of these struggles.  We laughed as we left the MRI office today about all that we're facing and seeing it as just a new part of life God has given us. Mom forgets. Dad remembers everything from 10-50 years ago. I take notes so we all remember what's important, but I still make wrong turns by not exiting highways at the right exit.  Yet truly God leads us in triumphal procession for His Name's sake.