In Memory of Rosalynn Carter

This week we lost a great American, Rosalynn Carter. Jimmy Carter was a one-term president and was criticized a lot during his tenure, especially for the hostage crisis in Iran and the high inflation that inflicted the economy on his watch. However, if you read Jonathan Alter's book on Carter's life, you will discover that Rosalynn and he did a lot of good things that went under the radar. 

Jimmy and Rosalynn are perhaps best-known for what they did after his presidency. They led amazing lives of service and were terrific role models with a world-class marriage of 77 years to match. In his book, Alter shares a note Carter wrote to his wife in 1949, when he was at sea with the Naval Academy: "When I have been away from you this long ... I feel lonely and lost, and it seems that I am not really living but just waiting to live again when you are with me." Rosalynn Carter kept all the letters he wrote from sea in a drawer close by until she died.

Whether it was traveling the world to help the dispossessed, the starving, the homeless, political prisoners, or simply serving as election observers in countries where fair elections are at risk, the Carters never tired of helping others. It may have been leading a Bible study in Plains, Georgia or Washington, D.C.; it may have been Rosalynn helping build a house with Habitat for Humanity; it may have been becoming one of the nation’s leading mental health advocates at a time when this still was a huge stigma. 

I will miss Rosalynn Carter, who for 96 years demonstrated what a Christian lifestyle should look like. She will always remain a shining example for the person I aspire to be.