Retired Marine Roy Link didn’t know 2-year-old JJ Rowland or his family, but when the 62-year-old man heard a boy had gone missing, he couldn’t resist joining the search. He turned to God for help, and it led him straight to the lost child!
After laying down to take a nap with her 2-year-old son, the mother of Joshua “JJ” Rowland awoke to every parent’s nightmare. Her child was nowhere to be found.
News of the missing child tugged at the heart of Florida resident Roy Link. And the Marine veteran quickly abandoned his plans to go fishing and joined the search for little JJ.
"How could you not?" the humble man pondered.
Crews had already been searching for 24 hours without any success. And this caused mounting concern over the boy’s well-being.
"That long period - everybody starts thinking the worst, and it's hard not to. It's like how can all these people and all these deputies [have] searched all this and not find a clue?" Roy said.
About an hour after going off to search on his own, Roy turned to the Lord for help.
“I said a prayer about 10 minutes before I found him,” he recalled later.
Coming upon an open field, Roy faced two different areas of woods to search. And he relied upon his gut feeling when selecting which area to explore in the hopes of finding JJ Rowland.
Just minutes after heading down his chosen path and he heard whimpering. The sounds led him straight to the little boy, who was standing barefoot among briars with tears in his eyes. And after Roy assured JJ he would take him back to his mom, the little boy climbed into his arms and clung to his rescuer tightly.
Roy Link called in to report JJ Rowland safe and then carried the boy back to rescue crews. Overwhelmed by the crowd, the scared boy held on to Roy, only getting into the ambulance so long as Roy joined him.
"He had scratches all over his arms and legs, but he really looked in good health," Roy said. "He did not look like a 2-year-old that's been out in the woods for ever-how-many hours."
“You know, it could have been anyone [who found him]. It just happened to be me,” he said.
And emotions took over after a reporter asked Roy what it was like coming up on 2-year-old JJ Rowland lost in the woods.
“You know, it’s so many emotions,” he said, pausing to fight back tears. After collecting himself, Roy then continued, “I would say who wouldn’t get emotional in that kind of situation, you know? But I was just so happy I found him, so happy he was alive and well. Just seeing the parents reunited with him — I couldn’t ask for a better day, a better outcome.”
God undoubtedly worked a miracle through this man and we’re so glad little JJ is safely back home with his family!
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk you in it.'” Isaiah 30:21
God is here to guide us no matter what we face. So, if you find yourself in need of divine help, find inspiration in the video below!
Article originally published by God Updates. Used with permission.
Photo courtesy: Sebastian Unrau/Unsplash