Making a difference?

DZoolander

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Do you ever come across things that make you think about past decisions, and if you made the right one/could have made a difference in someone else's life?

For example...a number of years ago I was working at this place and we needed some work done in my department. The company owner, being a cheapskate, had us find a contractor for the work through Craigslist. It wasn't terribly complicated work - but it required a bit of attention to detail and trainability.

We found this guy - who was a nice enough guy. I liked him and he did a good job - meeting all of my expectations. He had a young daughter, I had a young daughter, so we had a few things in common. I thought he had the potential for hiring on full time.

But then some weird stuff started happening. We started getting phone calls from people asking about him, because they thought he was the head of the department at my office (basically my job). There was enough weirdness going on that it made me do some extra research on him - and I found he had a pretty lengthy rap sheet. A few felonies for things like grand theft, etc...and some of the stories were just amazing. I won't go into them here due to the detail and how bizarre the stories were. You could easily track it down - because I'm sure nobody else was doing that stuff...lol

So I let him go. He really pleaded to keep the job - saying it was the best thing that ever happened to him - etc. But, I felt it wasn't a risk I was prepared to take for the sake of the company/etc...and I let him go.

Due to the bizarre nature of his crimes, every now and then over the years he crosses my mind and I check up on him on google...and sure enough...every time there's some new mugshot of the guy, some new crime he's been arrested for, etc.

Well, today he crossed my mind and I did my annual or so search for him, and I came across his obituary from a few months ago. He was a young guy, and it gave no details, so I can't help but think there was probably some nonsense involved.

Can't help but think about him pleading with me about it being the best thing that happened to him...because he was treated fairly...when we took him on he asked "Do you want to pay me under the table or file the paperwork" - and I think it surprised him when I said "file the paperwork", etc. So maybe it was the first legit type of thing he'd ever been given. Perhaps it was a chance to change.

And if that chance had been offered or worked through - maybe his life would have turned out differently. Maybe his daughter wouldn't now be missing a dad. Of course - maybe he'd have robbed us blind. Who knows?
 

snoochface

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That story made me sad. I had to let someone go once who also plead to keep his job and it broke my heart then and now. I think ultimately you know he was responsible for whatever decisions led him to all the arrests. But I definitely understand your feeling of could you have made a difference in his life. It's a hard balance to maintain and in the end you're responsible to your employer when making decisions that impact the company. Unfortunately you can't rescue all the puppies.
 
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DZoolander

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This scripture may help... 1 John 3:20

I imagine you covered the decision in prayer at the time - He knew the outcome and would have restrained you had it been critical to His plans.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.
I like that verse.
 
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