I introduced you to Tony awhile back. He can’t speak or hear, and everything he owns is on this bicycle and the little trailer that he pulls behind it. I would guess he has around a hundred pounds on his bicycle and trailer. He just rides around the country, mostly in the South during the Winter, and in the North in the Summer. I don’t know his story, but I have his email and I have connected and I plan on communicating to him regularly in the days ahead.

I have thought about him off and on over the last couple of weeks since we have met, mostly wondering how he got started on his lifestyle, why he lives like that, and what it would be like. If I had zero responsibilities and was free to do what He is doing, I wouldn’t choose to live his lifestyle because there are to many things about it that I wouldn’t like. But there are a few things that are appealing to me, and I think about how to apply to my life in my present situation. A major one is he is not tempted to buy much because he has to carry it around the country on his bike, owning something is not worth the work it takes to take it wherever you go. One of the first words that our kids said when they were little was, “mine”, and they usually said it with passion and volume in order to make their point. “Ownership” of stuff is a natural attraction of our flesh, and I am always buying more, reading the Cabella’s catalog, looking around on eBay, Amazon, and Craig’s List to see if I can find a deal. One Bible teacher I admire wrote, “The more I own, the less Christ owns me”. That is a scary statement considering how hard it is for me to get rid of stuff, and how easy it is to buy more stuff. I am not sure yet how I am going to make it happen, but I am going to work at deliberately simplifying my life, and owning less.