I used to believe I was the strongest I could be if I could stand up for myself, right the wrongs, and didn’t show too much vulnerability that would allow people to make me feel unbalanced while standing on my personal pedestal. I knew God was good, I knew I could pray to Him in a moment of weakness, I knew He would listen.

What I didn’t know was how powerful His grace is when I learned what it really felt to be empty, out of control and full of questions with no answers. One observation of mine through this journey is that some women believe it is a weakness to have fertility issues and prefer to keep their pain/experiences to themselves to not show any “flaws” in their lives. While I respect such privacy and admire those that can stand on their own, I know I can’t get through such heartbreak without knowing He is with me. I’ve learned how Christ’s grace works the hardest when I’m the weakest.

 ^“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

It’s not that I, personally, am strong during this frustrating and emotional journey, but it’s the fact that where my weaknesses create huge, empty holes in my soul, it opens more space for the grace of God to fill.

It could feel natural to conceal your weaknesses in order to cover your own insecurities. It’s easy to put on a smile and fake it ’til ya make it. There’s little effort in keeping walls up to keep people seeing the “real” you. But the real challenge, which ends up being the greatest gift, is learning to use those opportunities to show how God lives in you, how powerful His strength is, and how His grace is greater than any obstacle.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”   1 Corinthians 15:10

Where have you seen God’s grace overshadow your weakness?