Great, thought provoking read. Here’s the thing … God loves all of us. He/She/It doesn’t love Christian’s more than Muslims or atheists, he doesn’t reward or punish us for how we live our lives; he loves us unconditionally, no matter what we do or don’t do. He allows us free will, and we all have Guides and Angels to help us while we’re here. Our souls planned this life around lessons and experiences we needed for whatever reasons, and the Angels tell us we’re eventually grateful for all experiences when we return home.

I realize this isn’t particularly helpful when the screws are being turned. I still don’t understand why my dad died of cancer my mom and sister from Alzheimer’s, and my husband from Parkinson’s. I don’t necessarily feel grateful at this point for the hardships I’ve gone through, but I definitely learned from all of them. Life is just damned hard sometimes, and we do the best we can to get through it. I don’t think anyone gets through unscathed, but in the long run, I’d like to think it will all be worth it in the grand scheme of things. Rather than teach our kids that they will be rewarded by God for following whatever set of rules have been cited, I think it’s better to teach that, whatever we do, we’ll be loved, and we’re never really alone. Blessings, my friend, and hang in there.