John Johnson

John Johnson - From Broken Roads to Open Pastures: How John Found His Purpose at Johnson Ranch & Rescue

John spent over 30 years in upstate New York, where he owned and operated rental apartments and bought and sold real estate. It was a business he built and ran himself for decades.

In 2006, John was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had to stop working. The disease progressed quickly. The cold weather and outdated infrastructure—sidewalks, stairs, and uneven surfaces—made it harder and harder for him to get around. He knew he needed a warmer climate and newer infrastructure if he wanted to stay mobile as long as possible, so he moved to Cape Coral.

After several years there, John realized that although he was in a better place physically, he was just sitting around without a real purpose. That was probably the worst thing for him. He had always been used to living on a large piece of land, staying busy and active, but he was becoming more and more of a shut-in. He knew he had to make a change.

It felt like an answer from God when John found undervalued land that he could turn into a ranch. He got started right away. Even though he’d gone through a rough divorce five years earlier and was disabled, he decided he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He began clearing the land, installing all new fencing, and creating eight large pastures. He purchased a cattle herd from his cowboy friend, rehabbed the old barns, planted seed, spread fertilizer, and started growing beautiful, nutritious grass. The cows flourished.

John didn’t do all of this alone. He quickly learned that he has the best neighbors anyone could ask for. They care, they’re always there when he needs them, and over time they became more than neighbors—they became his friends and his family.

Once the ranch was up and running, John felt like he was finally doing something meaningful for himself. But deep down, he still felt like he didn’t have a true purpose. Oddly enough, finding his purpose turned out to be harder than building the ranch itself. After his divorce, he focused on himself and on improving the ranch, but something was still missing. He couldn’t figure out what he was meant to do with the rest of his life.

Living alone gave John a lot of time to think. Eventually, it clicked: everything in his life was moving in the right direction—except his spirituality. He realized he had been out of church for 30 years, and that was the missing piece. He decided to go back. Once he did, his life became stress-free and drama-free, and that’s exactly how he likes it. John has always loved animals, and he has a strong passion for rehabilitating them.

After a couple of weeks of research, John realized he could keep his cattle herd and also start accepting animals that weren’t being properly cared for elsewhere. He began advertising to purchase groups of animals from people who could no longer care for them or who were moving and couldn’t take their animals along. Since then, he has purchased and taken in several large groups of animals. Many were underweight, neglected, or living without proper shelter or fencing.

John rehabilitates these animals, gets them healthy, and then rehomes them with loving families. So far, he has successfully rehomed several large farm animals and continues to bring in new groups, restore their health, and send them on to better lives.

John has worked hard all his life, and he is blessed to be comfortable. The Johnson Ranch and Rescue was not created to make money. He is in the process of establishing it as a nonprofit organization.

Today, John has a clear purpose: to save farm animals. It is, without question, the most rewarding thing he has ever done. An unexpected bonus has been the people he has met along the way—some of the kindest, most genuine people he has ever known.

John has made new friends, and he has found his purpose.

He believes God knows what your purpose is. No matter where you are in life, keep searching until you find it.