Description

The Lost Boy

Rosanne Reeves tells the story of a time when her family went camping, with extended family, up in the mountains of Utah. One afternoon, while everyone was enjoying visiting, her son, Jake, and two of his cousins decided to take the dog for a walk. They were about seven years of age.

Time passed, and Rosanne realized that the two girls were back in camp, but Jake was not with them. When she asked the girls where he was, they said he had turned back in fear that they might get lost. 

Rosanne immediately jumped on the four-wheeler and rode up the trail. She saw footprints, but no sign of Jake.

She rode back to the camp where the group was organizing a search. Staci, Rosanne’s niece, suggested that they offer a word of prayer asking for help in finding Jake and for safety. That prayer was offered. 

The family divided up and went different ways, searching for the lost boy. Rosanne rode back to the main road that led up to a trail head. Something inside told her to go up that road, but she said to herself “he wouldn’t have walked up there.”

Nevertheless, she listened, and against her own judgment, went up the main road. And there, drinking from a juice box, was her son, Jake. 

With him were a number of other campers. They had found him lost and wandering near his own campsite (thought he didn’t know it). Trying to help, they took him on their four wheelers up the road to their parked vehicles. They were just preparing to take him to the ranger station when Rosanne drove up. 

Can you imagine this dear mother’s relief? The timing was perfect. Had she left sooner, or later, she could have missed them.

And one more thing, Roseanne says that it was on that same camping trip that two of her boys went into the tent to change their clothes as it was getting cooler. They came out, and, without any warning whatsoever, a tree fell on the tent and crushed it.

When we pray, morning and night, in our families and for our families, it is as though we cast a protective covering over them — that the powers of heaven watch over them — guard them. Of course, not every disaster is averted, nor should be, but how many catastrophes could’ve happened and would’ve happened had it not been for the protective power of your prayers? Someday we will know. 

Source: Rosanne Reeves personal correspondence.