First of all, let me stipulate — as if it’s needed — that I am praying for President Jimmy Carter’s full recovery from cancer.
None of us beyond the former president and his immediate family knows what the doctors told him when they revealed that he had cancer — and that it had spread to his brain.
But to watch the 39th president tell the world about his diagnosis was to get a hint — I believe — in a prognosis that doesn’t appear very hopeful.
“It’s in God’s hands now,’’ he said. My belief is that when someone invokes God, well … you know what I mean.
His absolute devotion to his deep Christian faith brings hope that he truly is at peace with whatever awaits him. The president told us all that he is ready for whatever outcome awaits him. And watching this man for nearly 40 years from afar, but getting a feel for his deeply held religious faith, you get the sense that he really and truly is at peace.
As many have noted, Jimmy Carter’s post-presidency has been far greater than the single term he served in the White House.
Someone asked him this week in Atlanta when he made his stark announcement about any regrets he had about his presidency.
He said he wishes he’d sent “one more helicopter” into the Iranian desert in April 1980 on that tragic mission to rescue the American hostages held captive by Iranian militants. Had he done that, Carter said, the mission likely would have succeeded and he would have been re-elected to a second term.
The reporters gathered in the room to record the event laughed.
President Carter smiled that broad, toothy grin we’ve all come to know.
He remains an optimist that he’ll win this battle. I’m hoping, too, that his inner strength will carry him forward to do more good work.
Peace be with you, Mr. President.
