Let’s start by telling you that on January 7, 1976 I was born again and joined a non-denominational Christian organization in Canada.
Part of joining the organization was to forsake all. This was a source of income for the group as it would give them items they otherwise couldn’t afford to buy. If they didn’t have a need for the things you forsook they would sell them at garage sales and raise funds for the organization.
So I decided to join and part of that process was to forsake all my possessions.
What possessions did I have? I still lived at home with my parents but I had a set of used Ludwig drums, a couple of guitars, a Yamaha component stereo system, an old Ford Falcon car, a ten speed bike, and some books. Non of these items were cheap. I worked hard to get them…
When I was told I had to forsake all if I wanted to join, not just my possessions but that it was a total commitment – I was going to have to give up my life if I wanted to start a new one… I said ‘Yes.’
So I went home with one of the brothers that recruited me and we loaded up my beat up Ford Falcon with all my possessions and were going to take them to my new home. Unfortunately, the car had a problem with the gear shift. I hadn’t driven it for a while and that day, in the middle of a snow storm, wouldn’t cooperate and I couldn’t get it out of the driveway at my parents house.
We ended up getting a taxi instead so that was an ordeal but it was alright because I had no qualms about forsaking all. I was determined to give away my past life in exchange for a new one that had purpose and meaning…