Gerald Ford's testimony

Gerald Ford's testimony: "Gerald R. Ford on May 28, 1977, four months after leaving the presidency, gave the commencement address to his son and 180 other Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary graduates. Here are excerpts:

Today I speak not as an office-holder but as a father and private citizen. From this perspective it's easy enough to see how fleeting things of the world are which we consider important. A man can hold high office, command great powers, and be hailed as the leader of the world, but when his time in office is over he must be prepared mentally, emotionally, spiritually, to relinquish the power, the prestige, and the public acclaim that came with the office. He must retain the quiet confidence that he has been the same man all along and that whatever he contributed as president he can still contribute in other ways.

This is not an easy transition to make, but with the help of one's family and one's friends and with the conviction that God works his own purposes in each of our own lives, it is easier to see that leaving the White House is not the end of the world but simply the beginning of a new chapter in one's life...."