Today was a classic case of, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” I began my day early trying to accomplish many tasks and succeeded in every sense of the word — I was feeling great!! Don’t you love those days that are simply just days of bliss and productivity?! Today was that type of day for me. I worked on various projects and brought a couple to completion. I have been ahead by a minimum of three weeks on my presentations, as of the past month.
Then there are those things that simply go wrong. Tonight, I told those who attended my group to not eat before our meeting, as I would be barbecuing hamburgers. My team arrived early to help with the setup and everything was going great! There was only one problem, the brand new barbecuer, which had only been used once would not light. Over and over again I tried to light it, but nothing seemed to work. Finally the burners came on! The burners were working, but hardly any fire seemed to have been coming out of the barbecue burners. I thought, maybe just maybe this grill does not have large flames. I left the hamburgers on the grill and for over and hour and a half they cook, or do they?! As I tried to complete my presentation the hamburgers were still red and some of my followers were very hungry. My promises of hamburgers just did not pay off!
Ultimately, as a leader it becomes disheartening when the details of life do not work out, but I like what the Bible has to say about it,
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up (Galatians 6:9).
In reality, I see the barbecue fiasco as a disappointment. But at the same time, it is a disappointment I can live with. There are those things you can control and there are things you cannot control. In this instance, there was nothing I could do to make the barbecue work. It was a trivial part of the evening, and that is how we leaders must look at life.
Life comes with many uncertainties and even though obstacles come, many of the obstacles do not even matter in the schemes of our leadership; they are minor setbacks.
