I grow by inches and die by feet

A fantatstic Lenten meditation from Catholic Culture! here's a taste:

So, are we tempted beyond our strength? If we are talking about our strength alone, then yes, we are. It is not our grace that is sufficient; it is God’s. But if we are talking about our own ability to cooperate with—or to rely effectively upon—God’s grace, then we are not tempted beyond our strength, and God does provide us the way of escape, that we may be able to learn to endure the temptation. It is actually an important part of God’s plan for us that we should sometimes experience temptation as an exhausting battle, because it permits us, along with St. Paul, to recognize our own weakness.

Our problem is that we are not often quick studies. It takes us time to learn to live in grace in such a way that God’s power can become perfect in our weakness. But God’s power does become perfect as we become more proficient at cooperating with grace across the whole spectrum of our lives. Just think for a moment: Often learning to do this in one area lays a path for unexpected success in another, for all of our triumphs and struggles are connected. What we view as a huge problem is not infrequently also a symptom of something else. We triumph slowly, and by degrees.