You must, You must think I’m strong
To give me what I’m going through
Well forgive me, forgive me if I’m wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us

Well maybe, maybe that’s the point
To reach the point of giving up
‘Cause when I’m finally, finally at rock bottom
Well that’s when I start looking up
And reaching out

‘Cause I’m broken
Down to nothing
But I’m still holding on to the one thing
You are God
And You are strong when I am weak
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be strong enough
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be
Strong enough, strong enough


Written by Matthew West © 2010 External Combustion Music / Songs For Delaney / Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC (Admin. by Wixen Music Publishing, LLC) (ASCAP)

Behind the Song:
'By the grace of God, I am the mother of 3 awesome children, Haleigh (22), Kelsey (18) and Jordan (16). It has always been me and them against the world. I had my first daughter, Haleigh, at 19. We grew up together. When she turned 19, she had a bad car accident after sliding on black ice and shattered her right leg (high impact pilon fracture). She was in the hospital off and on for months. Her health insurance got cancelled because she couldn't maintain her full time college status. She got MRSA from the hospital. Ended up having to have 11 surgeries. As a single parent and her Mother, I didn't leave her side. But when I did, I would go home while she slept long enough to sleep a bit and run through the shower. I remember feeling so alone though. My family was/is great. They were there as much as could be, but at night, when the lights were out, I would lie in my bed and just cry from the loneliness and exhaustion, mentally and physically. That has been 3 years ago and she is still recovering. She was at one hospital that wanted to amputate her leg from the knee down, so I had her transferred to the hospital in our home town where 2 wonderful Doc's were a God send and took over her care. She is still in a boot, still has an open wound that is still healing due to the blood flow being compromised and has a long road of healing ahead of her as far as surgeries and physical therapy are concerned, but she is beautiful, living her life, going to college, living on her own,being independent and not letting it keep her down. Most importantly, she is still here with us. I have told her all along that God has a reason for everything and she definitely has a purpose. One of the times that we were in the hospital going through this horrific ordeal, I said to her 'Haleigh, the Lord doesn't put anything on us that he doesn't think we are strong enough to handle' and she said 'Well he must think we are pretty freaking strong then!' If it wasn't for my faith, I would have gone out of my mind. Life is hard, but God is good and I am a firm believer that there is power in prayer. Through all of that, I never felt like he left my side. He guided us to do what was necessary to protect her and sent us the wonderful Doctor's who took her under their wings and took care of her. On a side note, my daughter Kelsey has pretty much a full ride scholarship for college in the fall and will be Majoring in Pharmacy and is sunshine. My son, Jordan, is getting ready to get his license, which scares me to death. My kids are my life and I thank God for them every single day! God Bless Matthew!'

Matthew’s commentary:
Nineteen year-old, Haleigh, had plans to head off to college in the fall. Those plans changed when she was in a near tragic car accident, that left her leg shattered and her future uncertain. Her mom wrote to me to tell me about the difficult journey her daughter has had. Eleven surgeries in three years, and she is still recovering. This poor girl had all these plans and dreams, and then something comes out of nowhere and everything comes to a screeching halt. Ever been there? Maybe you can relate with how Haleigh felt one night in the hospital when her mom was trying to comfort her. Her mom said, “Haleigh, God won’t let you go through anything you’re not strong enough to handle.” Haleigh responded with all the helplessness of a frustrated teenager, “Well, He must think I’m pretty freakin’ strong!” I’ve wondered the same thing. I’ve faced a seemingly impossible situation or two in my life, and found myself having candid conversations with God. “God, are you sure you got the right guy here?” “God, I can’t do this on my own.” And therein lies the point of it all. We can’t do it on our own. Nothing is possible without god. But we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Phillipians 4:13 has been a significant piece of scripture in my life, and one that I have to be reminded of time and time again. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, and I don’t have to be strong enough.”