Drugs...

I am still in shock over something I witnessed in a store parking lot today. It has really affected, and saddened me.
Today after church we needed to stop by a store to pick up a couple needed items. Usually I will run in while my husband waits with the kids in the car, but today he ran in, and I waited in the car with the kids. What unfolded before my eyes during this time was quite shocking and not something I was ready to see on a Sunday afternoon. There was a truck parked next to us, two spaces over and slightly forward. I wasn't really paying attention to anything, but saw two young, decent looking men come out of the store and get into a newer truck. One of my daughters even made a comment about one of their sunglasses, that is how close they were to us. All the kids then began playing in the back and I notice the passenger open his door and begin playing around with the bottom part of a cut off pop can. Okay, I watch the show Intervention, which shows real life drug users, so I immediately knew this was not good. He then closes his door and was bent over for the next 5 minutes at least. I am sitting there freaking out, knowing this guy probably has heroine or meth in his car. I am frozen for a second, completely stunned that this is happening right in front of my face on a beautiful sunday afternoon. I then see that the guy pulls down his sleeves that were pushed up. My husband then gets back in our vehicle, and I tell him what I am witnessing, we look over and see this guy pull down his visor, and look in the mirror while shooting a needle into his neck! Ugh. As we were driving away we did make a report.
Years ago, in high school, or shortly after when I was looking into a career path to take, I was initially interested in becoming a drug and alcohol counselor, so these kind of things really bother me at a deep level. My main reason for doing this was to help people since drugs destroy lives. I think about these two guys today, and although I witnessed something illegal, and I hope that maybe my being there seeing this was for a reason, I am also sad for them. How sad that your every day clean cut, regular looking young men that you walk past in the store could actually be heading out to his truck to shoot up drugs in his neck. How sad that they are wasting their young lives away. How sad that for some reason they may have never found joy in the true simple pleasures in life. I thought, those guys could be up in the beautiful mountains we have around here. They could be out fishing, they could be golfing, working out, swimming, having a BBQ, going to church, spending quality time with friends, etc. But, no, they were doing serious drugs on a sunday afternoon in plain sight at a large store I frequent often. I know this kind of thing is happening everywhere, and right under our noses. I don't usually notice it like I did today. It was placed right in front of me, which was strange. I know it's all around us which is a sad thing. I believe God puts these things in front of us for a reason, and just like the prostitute I met a few months ago when helping with a homeless ministry who is now on my prayer list, I think I will add these two guys to the same list. God can and will do miracles, even in the midst of ugly situations like this, and I pray those guys have an encounter with God soon, one that will change them forever..