The journey with my Dad's health has been a new one that I haven't known how to "pack" for!
I've taken lots of trips and have packed my own suitcase since I was eight or nine years old.  It is easy as a kid-a few changes of underwear and shorts and tee-shirts.  Your parents make up the rest if you forgot something.  As I got older, my "needs" grew more complicated, so my packing involved medications, make-up and many more wardrobe options for the weather and special occasions.
Remember that travel game where one person says "I went on a vacation to Alaska and in my suitcase I packed..."; then the next person says your item and includes one of their own and so on...well, that's what this journey seems to be like.  I need to pack emotional strength; then on top of that strength, I need faith; then patience; then calmness...and then there has been the care and concern for my step-mom and all that falls on her shoulders while Dad is in the hospital.
Just when I think I've finished preparing for this new travel experience, I realize my children are processing this crisis, too, and they need us to comfort, explain, interpret and pray.
And then a change or a new physical development will happen in Dad's body and I need to add more information, new medical terminology and then reinterpret what that means for our daily lives.
This journey has stretched my suitcase!  The zipper is straining; the sides are bulging.
I am so grateful that God~who is ALWAYS prepared for every circumstance~ is able to supply every need I have for this journey.  When I think I am stretched beyond what I can bear, He hands me another package of perseverance.  Or another bundle of trust.  He rearranges my packing job and finds room for just a bit more love and kindness.
Perhaps the hardest part of this journey is that I don't know how long to pack for...is this for a month, or two?  Only God knows.
But I can trust Him.  With my packing.  And with all the details as the journey continues.