Thanks Andy, and Pixie- I respect your views, and don't know the answers to life, any more than either of you. All I do know is that when things get so bad in life that you can't see anything at all in a positive light, someone else comes along, with circumstances a hundred times worse than mine, smiling, happy, bright-eyed, blessed. These people are the ones that show us how life can be lived. It doesn't mean we aren't always going to experience tragedies, times in life when we are going to feel bitter towards God, or just sheer depression at the realities of life. But it does mean that, however low things have got, there is still hope. That, for me, is the essence of what God is. But don't take my word for it- look around, the examples are everywhere.