President Gerald R. Ford died today. My heart grieves for the loss his family has now and that every Christmas going forward will be a reminder of that loss. I hope, though, that perhaps each holiday will be a time to remember a man who was best known for his integrity and his honesty. Really...a politician who was heralded for his honesty!

In reading about him, I was struck by the fact that, while it most likely cost him being elected to office for a second term, his decision to pardon Nixon was in the best interest of a nation whose office of president had taken a brutal hit. In the best interest of a nation...what other politician do you know who has managed to keep the largesse of his role focused properly on serving a nation, not him/herself?

His wife, also, has been heralded for her honesty in coming forward with her addiction and then seeking to help others after she found help herself. The Betty Ford Clinic has been the harbinger of a new future for those struggling with addiction. Instead of hiding such illness, fighting it head on, despite the public cost, is always the healthiest course of action. She gave that gift to a nation.

Together, the two of them have stood as role models for others, always honest, always quick to lend a helping hand. What an incredible testimony!

Gerald Ford did not win a subsequent election, but he continued serving the nation, even becoming a successful team with the man who kept him from office, Jimmy Carter. He gave of his time and wisdom each and every time another president called on him for help.

After playing for the Michigan State Wolverines in college, he received offers from the NFL via the Packers and the Lions. He turned them down to attend Yale law school. That decision led him down a path to one of the most difficult presidencies of our nation's history, between Watergate and Vietnam. However, that decision also garnered the nation a man of grace and probity at just the time it needed one most.

I can only hope that somehow, in some way, men and women of his stature might find their way into office in a time when a nation is suffering from a dearth of politicians who have the courage to put the interests of a nation above their own in the manner of Gerald R. Ford.