Risk, risk, risk!

For those of you who know anything about my life coaching career, Fearless Living means taking risks. A person stays stagnant in the status quo. Living, learning and growing means doing things that don't feel comfortable -- things you wouldn't normally do. Needless to say, I'm doing new things here everyday. I'm risking and feeling vibrant!

Today's risk was going to church. While doing trip research, I came across the American Church in Paris. I was worried about Ella having interaction with English-speaking children, so I figured that taking her to Sunday School would give her some time with her peers. And who knows, maybe we'd be able to hookup with some family for a playdate.

Ella and I headed out on the RER train about an hour before their 1:30 p.m. contemporary service. I made a wrong turn coming out of the station, but a quick map check got us in the right direction. We arrived at the HUGE church and found a door to go inside. Fortunately there was a reception desk close by, where we were told that there was no longer a Sunday School class at the afternoon service. Ella was incredibly disappointed.

There were already some risks there, but the bigger risk came now. We went into the worship service and sat down. A few moments later, a woman came in with a child. I jumped on that opportunity! I walked right up to her, introduced myself, explained the Sunday School misunderstanding and asked if we could tag along with her. This is something I would NEVER normally do ... it felt like I was being too pushy or imposing myself on someone else. BUT I did it anyway.

Turns out that the girl was a very shy 7-year-old named Flora, so she wasn't really into interacting with Ella. It was their first time at the church, too. Her family is originally from Scotland, but have lived in Paris for a couple of years. And even though Flora didn't really say much, Ella sat next to her, talked to her a couple of times and seemed satisfied. She even left church saying, "That was great!"

So, woo-hoo for me for taking another risk, and woo-hoo for Ella being bold in trying to make friends. I could learn a thing or two from that kid ...