The Roller Coaster of Life 

If you have been following Wall Street, gas prices, or even Presidential Poll Numbers, than you’ll agree with me when I say that Life can be like a Roller Coaster. It has it’s ups and downs, it’s curves, and ridges, and most importantly you never know what you are going to get next lol.   
This past Saturday was spent at the Creek County Fairgrounds where the Creek County 4-H and Kellyville FFA Officer Teams met for some leadership training with me. We had a blast as we went through different group activities, brainstorming sessions, in-depth discussions, and more. Afterwards we all went together to Tulsa’s Incredible Pizza or TIPS for short. I can’t remember the last time I was there, but it was a great time of food, fellowship, and just getting to know one another better. 
As we got there, I noticed that TIPS had certainly went under some major renovations since my last visit. For example, you don’t get tickets anymore for credit, you get points added to your game card, they had expanded their mini-golf into Glow in the Dark, and most excitingly, they had added an Indoor Roller Coaster. It was EPIC! 
This roller coaster had become the talk of everyone there. All the parents marveled at it, all the grandparents were in awe of it, and the kids were more excited than Boone Pickens at the start of an OSU game 😉. Everyone was pumped about this new attraction. 
There was one kid, however, who caught the eye of myself and some of the students who were there. He stood out from the herds of kids, because he didn’t have a smile on his face. In fact, he had the complete opposite, a frown. He was sitting by himself, with his head in his lap where he had been crying. Come to find out, the little boy had been looking forward to going on the new roller coaster ever since he set foot in the building. 
When he got to the attraction, he sat down, buckled his seatbelt in, and just before the ride was about to take off, he was told by the attendant that he was not going to be allowed on the ride because he was not tall enough to meet the safety standard. There was no room for this young man’s little body on this gigantic roller coaster ride. So he got up and simply crawled into a ball and cried his emotions out. What’s crazy to notice was that in the midst of this place of fun, recreation, and good times, was now home to a boy full of sadness, heartbreak, and rejection. No one would have thought that you would find heartbreak in the middle of joy. Too often times this has become the case in our world. 
As I look at this scenario, I see a parallel between this setting and in life. One of the easiest ways for us to bypass an opportunity to impact others, is by losing sight of the big picture. It’s important to note that while we are experiencing joy, peace, and happiness in our own lives, there are many in this world who are not. As leaders we have a responsibility to reach out and share our strength of joy with one another. Life is a roller coaster, but that should cause us to be uncomfortably ready to be there for people. We can’t afford to get caught up in our entertainment that we forget about the true reason for our existence. I bet we all know someone at our schools, jobs, churches, etc, who are looking for a chance to part of something, but are told by society that there is no room for them on this crazy ride called life. Truth is: Limitations do not define us. Legacies are what defines us. We must never reject others because they can’t be part of something. There is always room for everyone. Will we be willing to let others in? Challenge yourself to include others, give them a sense to belong, let them be part of your life. This roller coaster wasn’t just meant for us, it was meant for how we include one another on it 🙂 
Truth be told, we must make room to serve and effectively lead others. There are 2 options we have in front of us: 1). we can choose to Accept Others by sharing our joy and including them in something bigger than you and me or 2). We can reject them because we simply think that’s the way it’s always been. Let’s choose to Accept Others and Bring them On. It can literally change our world. 🙂 
Now more than ever, we need leaders who seek to serve, who dare to drive the charge, and reach out to those who are missing out. Let us never forget that this life we live was never meant to be just for us and this roller coaster of life is is never too full for people to join, in fact, I encourage you to pull up a seat, fasten your seat-belts, and get ready for the ride of a lifetime, because there is always room for more. No matter how Tall or Small You Are! 😊