Written by: gfesadmin on October 25, 2012

One ice-cube please

The flight attendant had that tired smile on her face – the one that is forced after about eight hours on a packed plane.  The Brussels Airliner was almost to Burundi and the last drinks were being served before landing.

“I’ll take a Coke, please,” I requested.  “Do you want ice?” she asked.  “That would be great,” I thought.  I knew that for the next week, I would be in Africa.  There would be no drinks with ice – this will be my last treat!

The Coke was poured, and then, ceremoniously, she took her baby tongs and extracted one – only one – tiny ice-cube and plopped it in my drink.  Inwardly I smiled as I took the drink.  These are the little things that remind me when traveling, that I’m not in the states anymore!

Sometimes we understand Christ’s message in a similar way – we settle for one ice-cube, served with baby tongs. 

Our lives are lived in frustration, trying to appear like we’ve got it all together.

We constantly work to win God’s approval.

We fear tough questions about faith, and can’t open up to others about our doubts.

Jesus talked about abundant life and modeled grace, forgiveness, acceptance.  He says that He is the giver of second chances.  He speaks off purpose through service.  He says we should love others so that we can love ourselves. 

When I think about those things, I have hope, in good times and in bad, even in this globalized world of change.

In Handbook for Leadership Theory and Practice, Rosabeth Kanter suggests that with Globalization there are three tasks to address: deal with uncertainty, deal with complexity and deal with diversity. 

To relieve these tensions of living in a world of uncertainty and rapid change – when we don’t get the number of ice-cubes we want – it’s imperative that we concentrate on two leadership dimensions that will be true in any culture and in any setting.

·       First, a “good leader will inspire and instill confidence in their followers, in advance of the results or the victory.”

·        Second, a good leader “will set standards for what is good conduct.  In short, he or she will possess integrity.”

These are two imperatives that span culture, change, complexity and diversity.

I don’t want to be one to live life in fear and uncertainty.  I want more than just one ice-cube. 

I want a glass full of ice, living life to the fullest, with all of its hurts, joys, doubts and grace – modeling this existence not after the latest TV evangelist, or Christian book, but after Jesus Himself.

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