As a young child I read every book about saints in my school library. I suppose I wanted to know what qualities define a truly good person. I was sometimes frustrated by thoughts that the people whose stories I read seemed more otherworldly than other humans I had observed. I did not think it possible to be as perfect as they were described to be and so I stopped hoping to find a saintly individual who had overcome the kind of flaws that we ordinary humans always have. It was not until I was older that I realized that those little books that I so voraciously devoured had been written more like fairytales than actual biographies of flesh and blood people. I understood that saintliness is not defined as a person without our human limitations, but rather by their efforts to be kind and understanding to others. 

Saints are people like the rest of us but they work hard to focus less on themselves and more on the needs of the people around them, especially those who are often overlooked or even spurned. With my new definition I was able to see that my own dear mother with all of her weaknesses and foibles was at heart a true saint. She was a woman who dedicated her life to loving the people around her to the maximum extent possible. She experienced grave tragedies and hardships and illnesses with an unswerving faith in God and an optimism and generosity of spirit that was unmatched by most of the people I have known. At the same time she was imperfect and at times struggled with a kind of dark anxiety from which she struggled to escape. Somehow she always did through her overriding faith and devotion to her family and friends. 

Jimmy Carter was also such a person. On the whole he was a loving man who used his stature to minister to the needy and suffering people of the world. His faith in God was a driving force for all that he did even as he honestly admitted to experiencing moments of doubt and confusion and even anger over the vagaries of life. In his dedication to others, he rose above the temptations that threaten each of us and lived a life filled with love and compassion for his fellow humans. 

Jimmy Carter was born into a farming family that was not rich but still had more than enough to feel comfortable. He grew up in a home without an indoor bathroom in a time of deep desperation for the American people. He was a citizen of the deep south where segregation was so intrenched that Black Americans were treated as outsiders with few rights in spite of their freedom from slavery. He was a bright young man who had dreams of moving beyond the confines of the little town in Georgia where he was born. With big goals in his heart he went to Annapolis, Maryland where he studied engineering at the Naval Academy and later to Georgia Tech where he secured the knowledge that he believed would be his life’s work. 

After a brief stent working on the first nuclear submarine with Admiral Rickenbacker his family responsibilities pulled him back home to Georgia to run the peanut farm. It was not the life he or his young wife had envisioned but he was a good son who did what he believed he needed to do. Sacrificing for others without too much grumbling would become one of his most impressive traits. He accepted his fate but balanced his responsibilities by becoming involved with local politics. 

One thing led to another and he found himself serving as governor of Georgia and then being tapped to run for President of the United States, a seemingly improbable rise for a man from a small town in a state with deep roots in slavery, the Confederacy and segregation. Amazingly he won the election of 1976 with promises to always be honest and to provide opportunities to minorities who had mostly been shut out of the powers of government. 

He was a quite unexpected spectacle in Washington DC with his outspoken mother who had joined the Peace Corps in her senior years and a crew of Black supporters to whom he gave important positions. He brokered a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt as well as continuing Richard Nixon’s efforts to develop better communication between the United States and China. On the other hand he struggled with an inflation fueled economy in the nation and the fall of Iran into the hands of Muslim extremists who imprisoned Americans living there. In spite of the many innovations that he created he was ultimately defeated after only one term as President and went home to Georgia to decide what to next do with his life. Little did anyone predict how important his next work would become. 

Rather than sitting back and enjoying a quiet life, Jimmy Carter embraced a decades long determination to live for the good of others. He built homes for the poor, fought for the rights of minorities across the world, contributed to global health and eventually earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his unflagging work to make the world a better place. All the while he taught Bible School classes as his hometown Baptist Church and became an icon of goodwill and kindness. 

Jimmy Carter died at the age of one hundred, the only President in history to live so long. He was married for over seventy six years to the same woman who had been his teenage sweetheart. He touched the lives of millions of people around the world while still living in the simple home of his youth. His largess is legendary and few would doubt that he was indeed a saint. 

I heard Jimmy Carter speak at a Rice University graduation ceremony in 1993. On that day he challenged the students to dedicate their brilliance and their energy to enhancing the world for all people. His words were uplifting and honest as he admitted to the kind of challenges they would face but insisted that the best hope for our nation and the world lay in our united efforts to focus with love and compassion on helping those who struggle. I have never forgotten President Carter’s message to all of us and I have marveled over the many years that he spent living the way he asked us all to do. I am certain that when he finally reached the pearly gates of heaven God and St. Peter and the members of his family were all there to greet him with a hearty welcome. I for one believe that he is one of our newest saints, one who inspires me to be a better person. My he rest in peace with the angels.