If we're honest with ourselves, very often God appears to be absent from our lives. If we're honest and open with ourselves, even when we're around ministers or priests, we often find ourselves wondering whether God is real or just a fanciful dream to help us get through a difficult life, a crutch for weak-minded people who don't have the constitution to embrace the grim brutality of life. And to be honest, even ministers and priests often ask the same questions. There's good cause to think that God is absent. There is no doubt that right from birth, life is a struggle.
Life is difficult and can be bloody and scary.
Not everyone is on your side. Parents cannot always protect their children from every harm. In fact, sometimes parents can be the enemy inflicting damage upon a child. I have come to see that a lot of people go through life lonely, afraid, scared, unable to trust anyone. The pressures upon the average individual in this society are immense and will probably get worse.