Why Bridge Forward?

What “Cry a River, Build a Bridge, Cross Over It” really means — and why it guides everything I do.

Some journeys break you wide open. Others just wear you down.

I've lived long enough to know that healing isn’t a one-time thing. It doesn’t follow a neat arc or wrap itself up with a perfect transformation.  For most of us, it happens in waves — through breakups and betrayals, career shifts and identity crises, grief that comes quietly and storms that come without warning. We don’t face one turning point.  We face dozens. And again and again, we’re asked to do the same thing:  Cry a river. Build a bridge. Cross over it.

The Cry

Grief comes in many forms.  Sometimes it’s loud. Sometimes it’s silent.  Sometimes it looks like tears, and sometimes it looks like over-functioning — doing everything possible to avoid feeling the weight of what’s been lost. I’ve cried over a miscarriage.  Over a betrayal that broke my marriage — and the long, hard road of rebuilding it.  Over the decision to close the church and school my husband and I spent 13 years building.  Over the loss of my parents. And my sister.  Over the version of myself I had to let go of again and again. The cry is sacred.  It’s not weakness. It’s not failure.  It’s the first truth we tell when we stop pretending everything’s okay.

The Build

After the river comes the work. Brick by brick — sometimes by instinct, sometimes with help — we build something that can carry us forward. A career pivot.  A new way of relating to yourself.  Learning to trust your intuition again.  Letting go of what no longer fits.  Asking different questions about what you believe.  Creating structure where chaos once lived. The build is slow. It’s tender. It often happens in the quiet, unnoticed places.  But it’s powerful.  And it’s yours.

The Cross

There comes a moment — not always dramatic, sometimes barely noticeable — when you realize:

You're not where you were anymore. You’ve crossed into something new.  Maybe you still carry grief. Maybe trust is still tender. But you’re no longer standing on the same bank. This is the part people often celebrate — the crossing — but it only happens because of the cry and the build that came before it.

Why Bridge Forward Coaching?

Because we live this process over and over.  Because it’s not linear. Because healing and growth happen across a lifetime. Bridge Forward Coaching is for the moments when you’re still crying.  Still building.  Or wondering how the heck you’re supposed to cross. It’s not about fixing people.  It’s about walking with them — holding space while they find their own strength again. If you’re facing a hard season, or if life has handed you yet another turning point — I see you.  You don’t have to do this alone. You’re just building your next bridge.

Want to take a step forward?

Check out Begin Your Journey.