CROSSing Bridges

 

Transitioning

Into the next state

Into another country

Into the next life

Over waters

Over railroad tracks

Step by step

Solo

But never alone

Held by forces greater than us

Hand in hand

Journeying in couplehood

With friends

Side by side

The climb

Steep

Engaging new muscles

We didn’t even know existed

As we crest

We catch our breath

And

Head down the other side

Less taxing as we descend

Discovering another set of muscles

Arriving on the other side

Our pace varies on new ground

CROSSing the next bridge

We look to our past experiences

As evidence

We can do this

No matter how tough

Never giving up

Trusting there are gears

Within us

Waiting to be tapped

Why do we CROSS Bridges?

To get to the other side

And

We do this again and again and again

Because we must

Because bridges are a part of living

Leading us into MORE

Graces at work

No matter how challenging

Abundance flowing

Even as we are gripped by Fear

OVERWHELMED!

Do what you must

Dig deep

Walk

Crawl

Run

Limp

Take my hand

Take your own hand

Take the hand of a loved one

We are all CROSSing bridges!

 

There is a pedestrian bridge here in Nashville, Tennessee that I love to run across.  My flat feet slapping the pavement, changing paces as some parts are steeper than others and sometimes my body can power over it and sometimes it needs to trot.  Wherever I am, I allow myself to be there confident after years of running that I can cross the bridge and make it to the other side; but then I turn around and head back over which is an entirely different experience, surprising me as sometimes I feel stronger even though my body has been taxed from the first climb.  Observing my Self and tuning in is always fascinating as I am ever-shifting like the winds.

Next week, I will officiate my niece’s wedding which thrills me to no end as she and her fiancé have a great love story, a destined love that inspires me and all.  As I run, I have been reflecting on the wedding message, what I want to write on their hearts on this most sacred day.  This morning as I arrived at my favorite bridge shifting into another gear as I powered up it, I saw a couple hand and hand about to crest it.  I could feel their love.  It literally poured from them in a magnificent and grounded way.  As I reached them, I stopped and asked them how long they had been married.  The man said:  I met this beautiful woman when we were 9 and we married at age 18 and we have been married for 58 years.  They reached out their hands to show me that they still wear each other’s high school class rings.  My heart was so full from this exchange and I told how their love had touched me from the moment I saw them.  The woman shared:  Our love has made every step of our lives worthwhile!  Our love is stronger than ever and it carries us through every single day…She choked up pausing and added:  Walking hand and hand, we can face the changes and transitions and there have been plenty!  All three of us stood there weeping.  We hugged fully connected in this transcendent moment elevated by truth and beauty.  I thanked them for the inspiration and told them I would carry them in my heart, feeling their big love intensely as I CROSSed the bridge; and knowing they will be a part of the wedding message and my message to you this day.  So divine!

The invitation this day is to trust that there are graces as work in our darkest moments, in our most challenging times when we do not know how we will ever muster the strength to take the next step, to move forward, to scale the steep bridges from the old life into the new.  Transitions are tough.  They are!  Even when we want the new, it is not always easy.  But taking our own hand, knowing we are going to take care of our Self come what may; taking the hand of loved ones, walking side by side, breathing through the tension, all that makes us uncomfortable and making space, finding that next gear, we can face life on life’s terms.  When you feel overwhelmed and feel sheer terror, stand fully in whatever you are feeling and just breathe as you reflect on all the bridges you have already successfully CROSSed.  You are a great explorer who has been navigating and scaling what you believed you couldn’t all of your days.  Life is truly the grandest adventure of all!  Seize this day as you CROSS whatever bridges are presented – they are there to guide you, to take you where you need to go, to the next stop on your journey, to new worlds within you ready to SING.  Let’s put on our big girl and big boy panties and kick some ass CROSSing bridges!