19 February 2006
Laurel Czajkowski

The Confirmation class has been discussing the topic of roadblocks, and we have been recognizing something of ourselves in Naaman's objections to the prophet's demands. That something is the kinds of objections and excuses we set up in our own relationship to God. As a disciple of the Lord, I have put up many roadblocks for myself.

In our scripture today, we read about a man, Naaman, who set up roadblocks for himself that stood in the way of his cure. He didn't know that his objections also kept him from experiencing the power of the living God. Naaman was the Commander of the King's Army and showed the symptoms of Leprosy. A servant of Naaman's wife noticed these symptoms and told Naaman about the profit, Elisha, who could cure the leprosy. So Naaman went to Elisha, but Elisha didn't go to see him. Instead, Elisha sent a messenger out to Naaman, with the message to wash in the Jordan River and then he would be cured of the Leprosy. Now, this is where Naaman began objecting. To begin with, he wasn't exactly happy with the fact that Elisha didn't come to see him in person. And the fact that all he was asked to do was wash in a river seemed silly. If river water was what he needed, why couldn't he wash in a river closer to home? Naaman was making it much more complex then it really should have been. Naaman's servants asked him, "What's so hard about washing in a river?" And Naaman gave in and washed in the river. He became completely cured of the Leprosy.

I, like Naaman can make simple tasks complicated. I tend to over analyze. On tests at school, I always make one answer and end up erasing it. Then I change the answer, just to later find out that my original answer was the correct one. I definitely regretted it later. I've also complicated things in church. In confirmation class one day, Carolyn spread out this one map that stretched no less then 5 feet. It had tons of writing and words and different colored lines, which made it really intimidating. Then, she asked us to find the point in time when the reformation occurred. Knowing me, I looked all over the map until I found it. Trust me, it took longer than it should have, but I eventually found it. I could have found if quicker by maybe using the other map that was less colorful and probably less complicated.

Another roadblock of mine, is not always putting God first. Honestly, there are days when I don't feel like coming to church because I'm simply too tired and want to sleep in. I need to pray to God more often. It will only benefit me and make my connection with God stronger. I could come up with any excuse for not taking time out of my day to pray. School, homework, work, karate, anything. But excuses are still excuses and there is absolutely no excuse for not spending time with God. I feel good when I do come to church and pray. I think including God in my daily life has and will continue to make me a more genuine and kinder person. And I must admit I used to have quite a sharp tongue, as my grandmother would put it. I'd include words in my vocabulary that I really shouldn't have. I've been cursing less because of coming to church. I've figured there's no need for it and the less I do it, the happier and better I feel. I thank god and the church for making me become a better person in that specific way.

I also need to be more accepting towards other people. This is a roadblock of mine, because God made us who we are and accepts us for who we are. If I don't accept people I wouldn't be practicing how to act under god's ways. Those who know me best, say I can be highly critical and judgmental. I like to think of it more as being strongly opinionated. I realize making a quick judgment on something isn't the way to go, because I can learn and benefit from something or someone I've made a wrong judgment about. For example, when I started confirmation class a few months ago, I thought it was going to be a bunch of bible talk, and only bible talk. Well, we have gone on a trip, watched movies, discussed subjects other than the bible, and we do my favorite, meditation. Through these I have learned so much. And this was something that I was too quick to judge, and now that I have been experiencing it, I enjoy it. Naaman made a judgment of putting himself higher than everyone else and thinking he didn't need to rely on anybody to be cured. So like Naaman, I am learning to accept other people even if they don't have all the qualities I like. And through this acceptance and these roadblocks, I am learning everyday how to be a disciple of the Lord.

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19 February 2006
Jenna Yeany

The Bible passage we just read tells of a man whose ego keeps him from a relationship from God. Naaman has a hard time dealing with the situation he was in and started to whine and complain. The main reason he was whining was that his ego was hurt. Everyone's ego is hurt from time to time and it happens to the best of us. When it does happen, people tend to lose their cool and bellyache a lot. Then the people around them are never happy because it is never fun to be around people who are complaining. Naaman also felt afraid of the situation and had trouble understanding what was going on. Naaman hid his fears behind his ego but it just made him come even more conceited. Many people hide their fears. Most of the time hiding your emotions brings you further away from God. Naaman did not know of God's word, which probably made it harder to understand what was going on. Fear often causes confusion and confusion and fear are two things that keep people from faith. When we get past our flaws such as our ego fear and confusion, our relationship with God grows because we are open-minded and willing to put someone above us. Naaman learned this the hard way. Many things keep us from a relationship with God, and our emotions play a big part in that. Once God realizes that, he helps us get over the troubles we are facing. If we realize how God helped us, we rejoice and give thanks to God just as Naaman did when his skin was cured.

Naaman was a Commander of the King's army and had a very high rank. Naaman knew he was popular and was not hesitant to let people know just how proud he was of his position and popularity. When Naaman discovered he had leprosy he knew he needed to cure it because otherwise he would be shunned out of the kingdom. Naaman decided that he would have to see the Prophet Elisha because Elisha was his only hope for curing his leprosy. Naaman took the long trip to see Elisha to find that Elisha did not even feel the desire to see Naaman in person. Naaman was used to getting attention from people wherever he went. It came as a shock to Naaman that Elisha did not want to see him. This caused the powerful Naaman to act like an immature child. When Naaman realized that nothing extreme was going to happen his maturity level continued to recede dramatically. Washing in a river did not seem to Naaman like it was going to cure leprosy. Naaman was left feeling confused and doubtful. It was not until his servant convinced him to just try washing in the river and hope for the best that Naaman even considered taking the prophet's advice. Naaman developed a faith, or at least hope that the river would cure him. Naaman was cured and it was not only because he washed in the river but he was also cured because he believed that the river would cure him. When Naaman realized what happened he gave thanks to God and then decided that God was his only God. From then on Naaman was most likely a calmer more centered person who would not let his ego or any other emotion get in-between him and his faith.

I think we are like Naaman in one way or another. We find reasons to be distant from God. No one wants to be distant from God, but sometimes life happens that way, and we put up a roadblock between us and God. Naaman's roadblock was his ego. Maybe he did not want to believe that there was someone with more power than him .Maybe he was scared. We fear the unknown and sometimes that fear keeps us from getting close to God. Fear raises questions. In our story, Naaman's first reaction to Elisha's instructions is to ask questions. These questions keep Naaman from following Elisha's instructions. However, they also have the result of keeping Naaman separated from God. We ask questions about God just as Naaman did, but sometimes these questions take us further from God.

There are many times when I put a roadblock between God and myself. I tend to put my social life over my religion and forget how important it is to have a relationship with God. Then when something bad happens, I realize how much I need God. Another problem I face when with my faith is confusion I am always wondering what the truth is about God, which causes me to test my faith. Then I realize that all that matters is that I believe in God with my whole heart, because he will always love me and can help me through anything. Occasionally, I do not want to believe in God because it is scary to think that someone is always watching my every move and that that someone will decide what to do with me in the after life. When this bothers me, I just tell myself that I can't always be perfect and that God will forgive me if I want to be forgiven. I know in my heart that even when these challenges come up they are only challenges and they will make me stronger, so I try to learn everything I can from every challenge so I am not challenged with the same thing again.

Every day we find something that challenges our faith. With Naaman, it was his ego. With me, it is a lack of balance between my social life and my religious life. Every one else has a roadblock from time to time. As these roadblocks occur, we need to remember God's love for us and return that love with our whole heart, as Naaman did when he dedicated himself to God.

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19 February 2006
Caitlin Malone

When I look at my relationship with God, I see many, shall we say, roadblocks that are keeping me from having a great relationship with him.

One of these is my tendency to make things WAY too complicated. In 2nd Kings, there is a story about a man named Naaman. The prophet Elisha's messenger told him that all he had to do was wash in the river and he would be cleansed of his leprosy. Somehow, he decided it was too easy for him, and it took him a long time before he would ACTUALLY do it. He could have cured his leprosy in 10 minutes! But he chose to make things too complicated.

Relating to my personal experiences, I, like Naaman, opt to make things more complicated than they need to be. During one of the first times we met for confirmation, we were given index cards and told to make them into a time line. I kept pulling at the little details of why someone could go where, and made it so hard for me to understand.
Another situation I have encountered countless times is a math problem. I am a very "savvy" math person, and I like to jump right into a problem when it is set before me. Lots of times, I will do extra things, such as use unneeded trigonometric identities or polar functions, to solve the problem. (No, there is not a quiz on math skills after this.) I then realize that if I would just take a minute and sit back, solving the problem can be done in one or two easy steps.

How do I solve this problem? Not an easy thing for me. I am one of those people who think that God needs us to be perfect in order to have a good relationship with him. That, in it self, complicates things. I need to realize that I will NEVER be perfect, and that's just life. God will love me either way. I can still have a great relationship with him as long as I try my best.

Another roadblock of mine is being just a bit too conceited. This can be a HUGE issue in dealing with my personal relationship with God. At times, I go to Sunday School and we talk about a story I have already read, or something I have already heard about. I get this mind-set that I know everything there is to know about the topic, and that is NOT a good thing for my relationship with God.

This topic of being conceited largely relates to my every day life. I am a band geek, per say, and we have a lot of problems with people being too cocky. For example, the trumpet section. It is a well known statement in out marching band that trumpet players are very conceited, and think they are the best at EVERYTHING. Most of the time, they are too stuck up to even realize their mistakes, which could really help them if they would just listen to people!

How do I deal with this issue? Acceptance. I need to accept that I am not always right. And even if I know about the topic that may be being discussed, I definitely don't know the insights of the other people. This can open my eyes to new ideas, whether it's a new way to think about a passage in the bible, or a new way to play a measure of a certain song! Either way, my relationship with who (or what) I am dealing with will be dramatically increased, for the better.

My last major roadblock is being a pessimist. Yep, me, Caitlin, can be a pessimist. A lot. Just ask my parents. I look at things negatively so often, it is unbelievable. For example, this whole moving the time of church up to 9:30? Not my idea. I am a 15-year-old girl, for Pete's sake! I HATE the fact that I have to get up at 8:30 in the morning. I have to drag myself out of bad, exhausted. My dad calls me a "stinker" because that's the mood I am in, a stinky mood. I end up going to church tired, and not paying attention, like I should be.

I do this very often at home as well. Every Sunday (and probably Monday through Saturday too) I hear the words so often heard in my house: "clean your room Caitlin!" I get so mad, that I never end up cleaning it. It seems like such a bad thing to me. But is it?

I could have thought of both of these situations in a MUCH more positive manner. For my room, I SHOULD be thinking, "I get to go out after this!" That would improve the mood of my whole house, and something would actually get done. Also, in the morning for church, I can think of two positive things! One would be that I get to worship with others, which should always be on top of my list. Another is that hey, since its starts early, it's over early! That means I can get out and do stuff all afternoon. That is, until 4 o' clock when confirmation starts. If I would just think of these positive things, I could improve my relationship with God times a thousand!