From Brokenness to Redemption

How Poetry and a Worldwide Cycling Mission Became a Platform to Reveal God’s Love

What does it take for a human being to be broken to the point where they welcome God every morning and whisper His name every night?

Contents

How Poetry and a Worldwide Cycling Mission Became a Platform to Reveal God’s Love The Choice: Better or Bitter From My Living Room to the Open Road The Current Odyssey: Exposing My Heart A Prolific Legacy of Hope An Invitation to the Ride

If you have lived long enough, certain words likely come to mind. For me, those words were once rejection, divorce, failure, fatigue, disappointment, isolation, and misunderstanding.

But through a radical transformation of my soul, a new vocabulary emerged from the places my heart has traveled: love, hope, forgiveness, grace, and authenticity.

Today, those words are woven throughout my poetry as I journey the world by bicycle, exposing my heart openly and connecting with the lowest and the highest alike.

The Choice: Better or Bitter

A decade ago, the life I had known for nearly thirty years came to an abrupt end. When my twenty-nine-year marriage closed its final chapter, I found myself sitting alone in the quiet of an empty living room, facing a crossroads.

I could become bitter.
Or I could become better.

I chose better.

That choice led me into a season of spiritual consecration. I entered a twenty-one-day fast, and during that time, the heavens seemed to open. In what I can only describe as an “invasion of grace,” poetic words flooded my heart—rhythms and verses I had never pursued but could no longer contain.

Those words became the foundation of my first book, Naked Before God.

Yet the journey toward wholeness was not a straight line. In my desire to find a partner to share this walk of faith, I experienced two additional failed marriages. Through those painful seasons, I came to a profound realization: I was already complete in Christ.

I no longer needed to try to “make” others whole or seek validation that I was capable of love. I discovered I possess a deep capacity to love—but only God truly knows which hearts are prepared to receive it.

Poet William Owens at the airport as he embarks on his mission to share God’s love across Asia

From My Living Room to the Open Road

That divine encounter set my world in motion.

When I realized the “Voice of the Heart” was meant to be shared, I took to the pavement. I toured America on my bicycle for over 1,000 miles, carrying a message of hope from coast to coast.

That journey evolved into a multi-year odyssey across the United States in a motorhome. I would pull into downtown squares and share poetry in the streets. I became, in many ways, a poet of the pavement—my verses seasoned by wind, dust, and divine appointments.

As the message grew, so did the map.

With my Trek 920 beneath me, I have cycled through the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These travels are not merely about miles—they are about moments.

I carry instruments with me—the rhythmic pulse of my djembe drum and the haunting melodies of my hand-pan. Often, sound opens hearts before the first word of poetry is spoken.

The Current Odyssey: Exposing My Heart

Today, I am mid-stride in my most ambitious journey yet: Exposing My Heart through Poetry Bike Journey.

After returning to Singapore to restart the cycle, my route now points toward Taiwan and Japan, beginning February 16 upon my arrival in Taiwan at 9:30 a.m. This is a no-timeline adventure—a Poetry Renewal Expression. It is both a physical and spiritual feat designed to bring awareness to the undiscovered love of God.

Each mile I pedal is an act of “Sowing Seeds and Reaping Souls.”

This journey also serves as the backdrop for my latest release, the song The Messiah is Alive. I originally wrote it thirty years ago during a difficult season while living in the Salvation Army. Now resurrected for a global audience, it stands as a testimony to the life-giving power I have experienced personally.

A Prolific Legacy of Hope

What began with Naked Before God has grown into a library of fifteen books exploring the love of God. Among them:

Warriors Arise — empowering readers to find spiritual strength.
Journey by Faith — documenting the trust required for a life of divine wandering.
Wisdom the Principle Thing: Get It — practical insights for life’s complexities.
Bastards in the Pulpit — a courageous call for authenticity in leadership.
Astonished and Poems for America — reflections from a life lived in conversation with the Creator.

Each book represents another mile marker on this journey of grace.