Who hasn't seen themselves reflected in today's reading at least once in their lives? It's easy to find yourself asking for something from God: more patience, more strength and more guidance. We still our feet and expect to be handed those things. After all, aren't we God's children? Do we not deserve a break from struggle? Can you please just make my mind not grow tired during finals? 

I’ve stomped my foot at God more than once because instead of making me stronger, God gave me a harder situation to face. When I said I wanted better concentration, I did NOT mean for God to give me my very difficult physics final for which to study! But in the same way a parent can’t give his child the ability to ride a bicycle without first taking off the training wheels and risking they fall when they let go, God can’t just make us more patient, stronger or smarter. In today’s reading, God doesn’t give Naaman the miraculous situation of healing he was expecting. Instead, God gives Naaman a chance to grow his faith and see how God can work through him, too. Naaman and I don’t like this. I didn’t ask for my physics test to be that hard, and he didn’t ask to travel all the way to the Jordan to be cured from his leprosy. And yet, we both praise God for what we gain in the end...though not without quite a bit of foot-stomping.