Mark Wayne – Author and Warrior
Sometimes there is no justice only mercy
It’s not easy friends to continue to believe sometimes.
The silence and the noise can sometimes be deafening.
The fear and uncertainty can sometimes be overwhelming.
PS – comment what I can pray with you and for you.
This is the last chapter in Part 2, Embracing the Present of my memoir, 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐲 and seems fitting as truly the world moves on after your loss and you have to somehow figure out and accept the reality. This means embracing the present in order to move on with it.
“Just as sure as the turnin’ of the earth.” – Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), The Searchers #quote #western #movie
Tweet
The Searchers
One of my favorite movies, and allegory for my own life as I have spend so much time searching for answers to questions that haunt me. Questions of which most have no answers this side of the undiscovered (heaven).
I have learned that for my healing it has meant reconciling my past, embracing the present, and redeeming my future. Often in no particular order as grief is not linear and there are so many ‘secondary’ losses that pop up. Even years later sometimes, that I must wrestle with and heal from.
⏩ Grief is carried as we search for what it means to us.
There seemed to be a turning point for me in September of 2017 after returning from a family vacation to Yellowstone National park when I wrote a blog post entitled “Searching… it’s all shit!”
I was finally realizing that I needed to get help and healing for my past, my present, and my future, and to be the best version of myself for those I loved and loved me in return. It was around this time that I seriously began the collating and putting together my memoir. Two years later in August of 2019, I signed a publishing contract with Christian Faith Publishing and my book was published the following August of 2020.
It was during this time that I realized that to truly rebuild my life after the pain and sorrow, I would have to let go of death, but would always carry the experience.
I must reconcile my past, embrace my present, and redeem my future. To move forward, not on, to discover where it is that I came from, knowing that death will always follow me. We unwillingly say a courageous faithful amen to the way it was, it is, and can be; which is what acknowledging death asks of us.
Get your copy of Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry here >
And a review on Amazon or Goodreads would be very much appreciated. Thanks again!
> If you are struggling with moving forward following a loss and searching for your best “life after”, reach out. Leave a comment or email me at info@markschutter.com,
I’ll follow up with some additional information and how to book a free call to chat and see if I can help. Thanks!
I am Mark W. Schutter, Grief Coach for Men and Author of the memoir 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐲, and we all need a little support sometimes.
Read my thoughts on previous chapters of my memoir, links below.
Part 1 – Reconciling the Past
Part 2 – Embracing the Present
👊 𝗣𝗢𝗩: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳
Watch my entire IG reel here > https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgM9CwSpxSd/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
Opening up the conversation to talk about the dark and uncomfortable things surrounding grief, loss, pain, death, life after and healing.
Why?
Pull up a chair to the fire, I offer:
Who am I and why?
First step: ➡️ DM to book a call to chat
Shoot me a DM if you are struggling with overcoming grief and pain, have questions or just need someone to come alongside you and sit with you in silence (Job 2:13).
We’ll schedule a free call to see if we are a good fit and I can help.
God bless and saddle up the adventure of your life after trauma awaits. 👊
Agree or disagree? 🤔
“A man’s grief is different.”
Do what it is that works for you and reach out for support if needed.
If you are struggling with overcoming grief and pain from a loss it takes courage to reach out for support.
Men often, myself included, like to go it alone. We pride ourselves on our individualism and resilience.
Yet, sometimes we need, and want, someone to come alongside of us.
If you are struggling with overcoming grief and pain from a loss let me know.
I am the author of the memoir 𝘾𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙧𝙮 and a grief coach for men. 👊
Shoot me a message via my contact page and we can schedule a free discovery call to chat and see if we are a good fit and I can help.
God bless and saddle up, the adventure of your life after trauma awaits. 👊 #LifeAfter #Trauma #Healing
Tweet
Everything was here, just as it was, and yet she was not and never would be again, and it was up to me to clean up the mess.
~Chapter 12, page 107, Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry
There will always be reminders on the calendar… reminders of the day she died, the funeral, her birthday, and even my own birthday. Not to mention the holidays and special dates we circle on the calendar that roll around each year not caring who is there to celebrate or not.
And there is the things that come up without warning. A memory triggered by a song, a photo, even a commercial on the television and so many other things. They never go away despite the days, months, and years that go by.
There are anniversaries we try hard to remember
And there are anniversaries we can never forget
~Mark Wayne
And yet, all of this… the triggers and reminders that cause us to pause and reflect, or break down and cry are the way it is supposed to be. I wrote at the end of this chapter that life goes on, and life wrecks us on schedule.
I believe that, although not in an intentional way, there is no normal life there is just life. (A little ode to Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday in Tombstone 🤠 who then says to Wyatt Earp, Kirk Russell “Now go life it.”)
Life comes with it’s joys and sorrows, love and loss, pain and healing. Moments touch us or trigger us, in that I believe we get to chose. For no matter what happens, our real power lies only in how we respond to what life throws at us.
Get your copy of my story of love, loss, grief and healing, Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry >
And a review on Amazon or Goodreads would be very much appreciated. Thanks again!
Read my thoughts on previous chapters of my memoir, links below.
Part 1 – Reconciling the Past
Part 2 – Embracing the Present
> If you are struggling with moving forward following a loss and searching for your best “life after”, let me know. Leave a comment or email me at info@markschutter.com,
I’ll follow up with some additional information and how to book a free minute call to chat and see if I can help. Thanks!
I am Mark W. Schutter, Grief Coach for Men and Author of the memoir 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐲, and we all need a little support sometimes.
People with broken 💔 hearts often don’t know who they are anymore. #Quote #Grief
Tweet
You’ve most likely heard it said to be kind as everyone is fighting a battle nobody else knows about. Thus, many feel alone and lost.
➡️ This truth has come up many times in my conversations with others.
I have stood by the bedside holding the hand of my late wife as she died. I had to turn and leave her. Leaving everything I had ever known and thus began my own walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I have been there and now I want to help others.
Reaching out takes strength and courage. Send me a message via my contact page to schedule a free 15 minute intro call to see if we are a good fit and if I can help.
👊 God bless! Joshua 1:9
POV: Grief is hard and can often incline us to hold a grudge against God when someone dies regardless of the circumstances.
The image is from the movie Open Range with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. You can see the entire clip on my Instagram page – @mwschutter.
I know because for many years I held a grudge against God after my late wife died of cancer at 27 years old. 💔
No reason other than a disease that wrecked her before taking her life and God did nothing to stop it.
I struggled with anger and bitterness for many years, stuffing it down. You don’t have to and unhealed pain and trauma will always come back.
➡️ There is a better way and now I help those who are struggling with grief through coaching and support. Helping you find your best life after trauma. Yes, you.
I am the author of the memoir 𝘾𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙧𝙮. The story of my own journey through the valley of the shadow of death.
Are tired of trying to ride off from death, loss, and grief? If so send me a message – via my contact page and I will send you information on how to schedule a free 15 minute intro call to see if we are a good fit and I can help.
There are many burdens you were not meant to carry. I am happy to come alongside you. 👊 See ~Job 2:13 📜
It was the 29th time that the day of her birth had come around following her death. Nothing much seems to have changed over the past few years. At least on the inside.
I kept busy that day, working moving dirt and readying the planter boxes in the greenhouse for planting. It was a beautiful sunny spring day.
And then out of the blue it hit me.
The memories I hold so dear were of a young girl in her mid-twenties. In the fullness of life, with dreams of the future, until the last few months when the sickness began to overtake her. But this day it is the year 2022.
She would have turned 57 years old.
Just typing the words seems surreal. I will turn 58 later this year so it tracks mathematically. But the heart knows nothing of numbers, only images stored in the mind and carried forever.
And I have no idea what she would look like were she alive today.
I have aged, gray hairs shining through my blonde curls. My whiskers when I let them grow are tinged with silver and the lines at the corners of my eyes and on my forehead are tell tale signs of the years that have passed.
But in my mind she is still that young girl.
In the prime of her young life, long brown hair, and sparkling blue eyes. The ravages of time had not yet made their mark as they do to us all that are blessed to live for many years. My mind is swirling.
I cannot picture her as 57 year old woman.
So, I wonder at this. Another wave of grief and loss assaults’ me. I feel as I if I have lost her again. For a second time, no a third time… hell I have lost count of how many times over the ensuing years.
I live on with memories from long ago.
I am happy. I have moved forward with a wonderful wife and daughter. And yet, I have watched my daughter grow into a teenager, and my wife has aged as have I. And my memories of her are frozen in time.
She has never aged.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? She never got the pleasure of enjoying more of life. Of family and friends. Even the aches and pains of a body that is worn and tired from a life lived fully.
But maybe, just maybe she did.
I smile, my heart is happy because in her almost 28 years of life, she lived every moment fully. She was alive, even at the end when the cancer racked her body, when everything hurt and I stood holding her hand to the end of our journey together.
I carry the grief and loss, right alongside my joy and happiness.
PS – You can read more of my story of grief, loss, healing and life after in my memoir Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry, available on many online platforms. I use my experience to coach others struggling with grief and moving forward from loss, let me know and we’ll schedule a 15 minute intro call to see if I can help. God bless, ~M
The myth continues… that boys don’t cry.
This scene caught my attention the other night while watching The Abyss with my family.
Why do we continue to perpetuate this belief? We see it in so many things in our society and especially in entertainment.
I have spent a lifetime trying to live up to this lie. You can read my story in my memoir “Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry” available on Amazon and other online retailers.
And yes the title is a play on words and the lie.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧…
From flat tires, to roof leaks, the horse favoring one leg, clients saying no, friends turning away, health issues, and even death.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧…
I am conducting market research gathering information from people like you about grief, loss, and healing. This data will help me to create the best resources for those who are hurting and struggling.
If you’re willing to answer a few questions send me a DM and we’ll setup a time to chat.
This is not a trick to get you on a sales call. Promise!
*𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 🤔
Share your answers in the comments. 👊
Mark Wayne - Author and Warrior 