My Testimony
Joshua Lemieux
It all started back when I was fourteen years old.
II started smoking pot with some friends.
I didn't think
it could have a bad effect on my life at all. I stopped
smoking pot when I was fifteen because
I made a pact with
some friends, NO DRUGS WHATSOEVER.
When I was about 17, I met a girl that I fell in love with;
started smoking pot again
with her and one of my buddies.
That’s when it all started. Weed lead to viks which then
led to xanax and
kalapins and even more weed. Then, I
started doing ecstasy and mushrooms and even acid. One
night I even fought
a tree while my friend had an hour
conversation with Snoop Dogg on the TV, and another friend
talking to a rubber
ducky. I didn’t think I was bad off.
I then started selling weed as well so I could smoke for
free. I was
a big stoner at this point.
On my
last day of high school I got caught with an ounce
of weed broken up in separate baggies, a digital scale,
15
packs of papers otherwise known as zig zags, and a lot
of roaches. I got arrested in school and couldn't march
with my class. I said so be it. I had to do two days in
jail and probation for a year. I stopped everything for
that year. Got off probation and started smoking pot again
and doing kaladapins and xanax; pretty much any benzos.
I still thought I was ok because I had a job, good credit,
a car, a wonderful girlfriend and all that good stuff.
Then, BOOM everything hit me at once. My girlfriend left
me for a guy that worked at my aunt’s daycare where
I got
her a job. Wish I never got her that job. My mom also left
my dad during this time. My dad was an alcoholic
and
couldn’t handle my mom leaving him so he tried to commit
suicide. I came home that day and there was
blood everywhere
didn’t know what had happened. I soon found out what
happened after a few phone calls.
I was already depressed
and this just topped it all off. That was the first week
that I stuck a needle in my arm
with heroin in it. This
was at the age of 19; started getting into opiates really
bad. One thing good came out
of it at the time, I stopped
smoking pot. Quit one drug for another, still thought
everything was ok.
From age 19 to 24 I did opiates strong. I started doing scams
at work.
I worked at Home Depot and would load free wood
up for people for either drugs or money to buy more drugs.
I wouldn’t
pay any of my bills because I was spending all
my money on drugs. I ran a drug ring at another place of
work.
My boss found out and held a gun to my head. Scared
me shitless, excuse my language. I ended up stopping after
that so I could keep my job. My truck ended up getting
repo'd because I was at least 6 months behind. Now I am
in debt 13K. Yeah, I still thought I was ok. Then finally
got fed up with that job and quit. Started to work at
Wal-Mart was staying sober for a little while then met
another girl and started doing some viks which led to
oxy's
and then led to booting up again. Still thought
I was ok. Ended up getting fired from Wal-Mart for stealing
a
PSP and got banned from there for life. Still depressed,
still doing mad drugs. Ended up going back to the sales
job for a while, it was cash everyday, that’s good I could
get heroin everyday as long as I do well. I was a
good
salesman; I guess you could say I was a professional liar.
I made my money to survive and got high everyday.
Finally quit that job and moved back to biddo. Got another
sales job where I sold cell phones in biddo. Ended
up
stealing money from there and getting fired. Thought I
was a good thief. That’s when I started scamming
like crazy.
Got another sales job and started stealing credit card
information which I used to buy stuff from
myself so I
could get money from eBay and Pay Pal. Now, I am in
another 6K of debt. Yeah, was doing 1 to 3 oxy
80's a day
at this point. Then, I got some crazy idea about stealing
TV's from Wal-Mart with my best friend.
We would go in
put a TV or two in a cart and one person would distract
the door greeter and the other one would
walk right out.
They couldn’t put alarms on them because if they
demagnetized it, they would ruin the TV.
I always
thought I was smart. Now, I’m a professional drug addict,
thief, and liar. Still thought everything
was ok. Finally
got caught stealing TV’s up in Brunswick. When I came out
there was a police officer to
the right and left, 3
Wal-Mart workers in front of me, and two in back of me.
I couldn’t run, so I just
gave up. Got arrested then got
bailed out that night. Then one day we stole some TV's
with me, my buddy, and
our two girlfriends. Oh the day
went so good, so I thought. We got 4 TVS that was a record.
Anyway we get back
to Biddeford and make a call some one
was going to buy all four TVs for 1500 bucks. So my buddy
jumps in with
me and the two girls jump into together.
I pay for there toll and we start heading to South
Portland. I look in
my rearview mirror and said man there
not behind us. As soon As I was finished I got a call
saying my girlfriend
was in a horrible accident and they
can’t find her friend. Her friend ended up falling out
the window and
getting crushed by the car. I blamed myself
even though it was a total accident. I got more depressed.
Start using
even more. Oxy's got two expenses so I turned
back to heroin, a lot cheaper a lot higher. If you had
something
worth money and you weren’t looking I was going
to steal it. I needed my drugs; started to get into crack
as well. There was good money in it so I sold some to
support my habit. Got into debt with my dealer and ended
up
stealing a ladies purse and using her credit cards.
She left all the pin numbers right on a sticky on each
card;
a thief’s dream. I then stole checks from my dad
and forged them out for cash. I started to think I needed
some help; was in and out of detox, getting drugs from the
doctor so I could sell them and make money for heroin.
My dad had to press charges. Really didn’t have a lot of
money and if he wanted to continue using his checks
he
had too. I moved to my moms in New Hampshire to get away
from the drugs. What do you know I was clean for a
week?
Then boom got a crazy hook up down there half the prices
of up in Maine. My situation even got worse. Had
a crappy
job but it just wasn’t enough money, so I went back to
what I knew best, stealing. Stole from my
mom and her
fiancée at the time; now my step father. Stole a gold
bracelet from them and even used his
credit card to Western
Union Money to myself. Even took 300 bucks as well.
Missed all my court dates in Maine,
got kicked out
of my moms and started to stay with a friend. Then one
day scammed a play station three with a
couple of buddies
on our way to sell it and we get pullover by the cops
for a bad sticker on the car; A BAD STICKER.
They ran my
buddies name and he had warrants out of Maine so he got
arrested, they ran my name and I had warrants
out of Maine
so I got arrested. Went to court the next day and find
out where going to get expedited. Everyone
in jail is
telling us Maine won’t come get us. They had a week. 5
hours before the deadline when they could
get us, THEY
GOT US. My buddy was off to Cumberland County and I was
off to York. We both thought we would get
out the next
day. YEAH RIGHT. I was in jail in Maine and I was staying
there for a while.
About a month or two after I was there,
my buddy's dad came
into visit me. He told me God told him to come in and see
me. I thought he was crazy.
Wondering where his son was I
told him he was in jail in Cumberland. He told me about
this program called Our
Fathers House. He told me about
this guy, Rick Martin, who ran the program and he asked
if I would be interested
in talking with him. Well, I’ve
been in jail for, like, two months or so and I know it
was working my way
so I said I would. Rick ended up coming
to see me once a week for the next 5 months in Jail. My
body started to
change. I was reading the Bible almost
everyday, stopped swearing in jail, and even got called a
Bible-thumper
and THE GOD SQUAD. It didn’t bother me. Got
time served in York, did another two months in Cumberland
and
finally got out.
On my 25th birthday,
March 30 2008, I was at church and they
asked if anyone needed a prayer to come forward. So I did.
Humbled myself
and got down on my knees and started praying.
My mentor, Will, came up and put his hand on my back and
started
to pray with me. I started to shake. It felt like
the insides of me where shaking and something was leaving
my
body. I knew this wasn’t normal. I knew this was GOD.
I even asked Will if he was shaking me he said no. And
now this brings me to where I am today on my walk. I’ve
been sober since Sept. 13, 2007. Sept 12 was the last
day
I did coke and it was a week before that I did opiate’s.
There’s no more hardened heart, there’s
no more depression,
I really KNOW I’M GONNA MAKE IT.
