When I was a little girl, I learned a valuable lesson about risk and regret. I visited my aunt for a couple of weeks in rural Illinois. I accompanied her as she took her son to kindergarten one day. As I stood in the hallway peering into the classroom, I saw children in various parts of the room doing cool stuff: playing with dolls, building structures from blocks, reading books (my favorite at the time), and dressing up in costumes.

I would rather try something even if it turns out badly than live with the regret of never having tried at all.

The teacher noticed me and asked if I would like to join the other children for the day. No matter how great the pull was to join in the fun, I held back. I was a year younger than these students, not ready for school yet! I didn’t know any of them. What if they didn’t want me there? I was afraid to risk feeling rejected and ultimately hung back safely behind my aunt’s leg watching from the doorway.

The rest of the day, I was relegated to playing by myself on my aunt’s kitchen floor while she went about her chores. I was bored and lonely wondering what might have been had I made the choice in that moment to risk getting out of my comfort zone to try something new. As painful as it was at the time, I am very grateful to have learned this lesson at such a young age: I would rather try something even if it turns out badly than live with the regret of never having tried at all. One’s tolerance for risking vulnerability, as it turns out, appears to be a key success factor when forming a new faith community.

I hope my story helps you find the courage to risk being vulnerable, to step into the unknown. May you be blessed on your journey. If you are new here, you may want to check out this blog’s first post.