When Strength and Grace Carried Me Through We are not alone. Strength arrived when exhaustion said, “Sit down.” Grace whispered, “Stand up.” The show had to go on, and it did. There was a set to build, a book table to decorate and prepare, and a story waiting to be told. Since December, the flu virus had left my body drained. Being tired or afraid of being tired had not been an option. The Tuesday before the Friday night Zora Neale Hurston performance , I finally surrendered