One of my favorite “West Wing” parables comes from “Take This Sabbath Day” in which President Bartlett must decide if he should stay the execution of a death row inmate (ironically, in the Terre Haute federal prison). Bartlett doesn’t know which choice to make, but he wants a way out that would condone the stay. He tells his childhood priest that he prayed for wisdom and was angry at G-d that none came.
The priest tells him the story of the man who lived by the river. One day, he received a radio report that the river is flooding and he needs to leave. A man in a rowboat showed up said, let me take you to safety. A helicopter flew over and the speaker sounds: I’ll drop this ladder and get you out. To each of those, the man said, I have faith; G-d will save me. He drowned and when he got to heaven, said … I had faith, I prayed, why did this happen? To which G-d replied, I sent you a radio report, a rowboat and a helicopter. What the hell are you doing here?!
I’ve thought about that scene so much throughout my life, and I thought about it on my run today.
I’ve been dealing with some health-related changes to my body that have left me frustrated and feeling out of control. After metabolic testing, I was told I have two options to remedy this. I could work on a plan that would, theoretically, help get my body where I want it, but I have to give up running for a few months to do that. Or, I could keep running and be satisfied with my physical self and be more loving of that self.
Learning to love my physical self is a struggle I’ve had since childhood. Life is funny that way … somehow, we’re given every opportunity to learn the lessons we need and make the choices we need for ourselves. Yet we fight it every step of the way. When I was running today, I felt very much like that man by the river and President Bartlett. How many more signs do I need in order to give grace to my physical self?
By the way, I recommend searching YouTube for that scene and watching it yourself. Martin Sheen and Carl Malden do a much better job with it than I do.