When Weak, Then Strong

I have heard this phrase, "When I am weak, then I am strong."  Say what?  It used to puzzle me, but now I am beginning to get it.  The weaker I am, the stronger I can be.  Explain!  Well, some circles call the weakness, the "Gift of Desperation."  We have to get to a place where we know we are too weak to do something, that we have become powerless to change.  A bad habit might be an example.  By nature, a habit is something we cannot change on our own.  We need some help other than our own selves or our will power.  People who used to be rather shoddy in behavior and have found some spiritual path of change, often use this phrase of being weak enough to find strength.  They seem to share in common the gift of desperation.  I used to think that whenever I am feeling desperate, I am done, finished, a loser, defeated.  OK, this may be so, but it is not the END.  It is the beginning of seeking some other power, force, energy, whatever, that is not me trying to do it all alone.  I have made some nice friends this way.  We all shared the gift of desperation.  Then we began to share hope and strength that was in the group but not in any one person alone.  Isolation is the alone part.  Going into the seminary was an act of desperation, as I look back on it, but it did not work, because it was all about me trying alone to "get spiritual." I had to get more desperate.  I am still a mediocre priest, but it could be worse.  A lot worse.