It has been a while since I have posted. I was going to post Monday, but an issue at work was on my mind and I could not shake it. The same issue held my thoughts most of Tuesday as well as last night. Today, new information about Monday's issue has really given me more to think of.
I have a colleague who I will call "Paul". Paul is 30 something, single, has a roommate and has, what is in my opinion, a chemical dependency -- a drug addiction. He has taken Ice and Ecstasy in the past and I think I have heard him talking about Crystal Meth. If you search for these drugs and read the effects they have on you, you will see why I am so worried.
I came to work on Monday, my first day back from my 2 week vacation and asked "Paul" how the past 2 weeks were. He immediately started rambling on in incoherent sentences, starting several conversation threads and not completing any of them. He looked very tired, but wired as well. I know that seems impossible, but if you could have seen him, you would understand. He had explained to me that he had been up for over 48 hours and was taking some medication on top of the illegal drugs he had taken the previous 2 days. I told him he was foolish, tried to get him to go home, told him he needs to stop this or it will kill him, etc. He told me that he knows he should not take the illegal drugs, but he does not do it "all that much". He missed yesterday and today. I do not know if it is related or not, but I believe it is.
"Paul" was raised on Christian values, although he did not go to church much. He has read the bible as a child, but is very agnostic today. I have been praying for him for months. He really is a good guy. He has a servants heart, but he does not realize it. He has loaned money to people freely, sold some of his used electronics to friends for very good prices (which he did use to buy newer electronics), has given me an old PC as well as some PC equipment, etc. I have talked to him about my relationship with God, hoping that seeds would be planted and he would see the light.
He has told me a few times in the past that he is going to quit, that he does not need to use the drugs, but he keeps going back. I assume that is one clear sign he is an addict. He also has shown up for work high and missed work because of drugs/alcohol in the past. 2 more very good signs of addiction.
What should I do? Tell him to get help or I will get it for him, risking my job and my good name? Contact HR? Talk to my boss or "Paul's" boss? Keep praying? I know know that God wishes for all of us to walk with him. I have prayed and I get the impression that God wants me to have one last talk with him. I wish "Paul" was here today. I really want to talk to him. Maybe I can see if he is online and talk to him.
What to do...
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