In Defense of God

I'm not the most religious person. I've sort of mashed my religion into a sort-of Mormon/Catholic/Buddhist/Wiccan/Meagan-Has-the-Final-Word hybrid. It's weird. I know. I'm all about forming your own conclusions these days.

A friend of mine (okay, Skylar) had major surgery, OPEN HEART SURGERY, the other day. He's an incredible guy, handsome inside and out, and it's hard for me to see him in the hospital. I said I wasn't going to cry, so of course I did- not. Alright, I did.

And today I saw a friend of his post on his FB wall.

dude, a hate to be morbid, but tell me, i know you are mormon, i take the piss outta you, but a promise, i do respect you, but how can you believe in 'god' when he makes you suffer so much??? love you buddy!!!

All respect to this guy and his opinions. But I have always hated that argument. 90% of people who believe in God believe that we were sent here to be tested and/or to be taught. Essentially, life was designed to be hard. Now, I have never had open heart surgery. I have not been required to suffer half of what others have been. But I have earned the right to talk about suffering. It's an old friend. I do not know why pain is necessary, but I do know that it is. Tests are meant to be difficult, and classes are meant to be challenging. To me, saying "How can there be a God when there is so much suffering?" is like saying "How can there be a teacher, when this class is so hard?" 

Guys- the class is called life. And it's designed to be hard.