Bending forward in his wheelchair, he pauses, concentrating intently on lining up his nose over his toes. Nose over toes, the therapist reminded him often, rhyming the instruction to help him remember. He pushes up with his strong left side. His right side, the one affected by the stroke, obeys only after months of practicing, of repeating the movements day after day, of relearning how to stand. He’s upright. Before he takes one step forward, he firmly steadies himself, balancing his strong side and his weak side. He stands straight. With my mom’s patient encouragement, my dad takes a step.  

As I watch my dad repeat these motions day after day, I marvel at how he has learned to balance his weak side with his strong side. And I thank the Lord for this living picture of God's grace in my life.  

"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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

I pause in prayer, in a posture of humility to receive his all-sufficient grace in my life. I am weak but He is always strong. This day and every day, before I take one step forward in my casual conversations over coffee, in my grand ideas for ministry, in my many errands, I bend forward in prayer, “nose over toes.”  I thank the Lord that he offers His grace, His strength, His comfort day after day to balance my weakness. He knows how truly weak I am and graciously offers His strength.