The Hammer That Never Stopped Swinging

In June 2023, Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at ninety-eight years old. The former president had spent nearly four decades after leaving the White House swinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity, building homes in scorching heat alongside volunteers half his age. He showed up in Nashville after a fall left him with a black eye and fourteen stitches. He showed up in Memphis needing a walker. He kept showing up.

When reporters asked why he did not simply rest on the legacy of a presidency, a Nobel Peace Prize, the eradication of Guinea worm disease across entire continents, Carter gave answers that sounded remarkably like the Apostle Paul writing from a Roman prison. He spoke of obligation, of calling, of a race not yet finished.

Paul told Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He did not say the fight was easy or the race was short. He said it was good — and he said it was finished. The Lord stood by him when others deserted him, strengthened him when his body could not strengthen itself.

Finishing well is not about finishing strong. Carter could barely lift the hammer at the end. Paul wrote his final words in chains. But both men kept swinging, kept writing, kept trusting the One who had called them. The crown of righteousness is not awarded for speed. It is awarded for faithfulness.