Question:  Hi Greg,

            I’m writing to you from England.  I used to read the Plain Truth years ago.  I have only just discovered your web site, so I am very pleased that I can catch up on reading some articles.

            My question is colored by the fact that I was in a relationship with a German woman some years ago with whom I had two daughters.  We weren’t married because she didn’t want to marry.  The relationship failed because she made demands that I could not tolerate, i.e. she wanted her previous boyfriend to live with us as her “second partner”.  I refused and she left, taking our children with her to live with him in Germany.  I haven’t seen my children since then—over five years ago.

            I now find myself unable to trust women in relationships and I suffer long, deep bouts of loneliness and depression.  I tried to pray and I have never felt that my prayers have been heard.  I have never been totally convinced of the existence of God, and I now have very grave doubts.  I have Christian friends who say that they are praying for me and that they “know” that God will provide.  Meanwhile, I try to imagine how I could end my life and cause the least suffering to others.  I am not sure what my question actually is, but why do I feel ignored?

            Alf

Answer:  Dear Alf,

            Thanks for writing and sharing your hurts, pains and doubts.  Logic tells us that there is no rational reason for not being able to trust any woman as a result of a flawed and failed relationship with one woman.  Logic tells us that unanswered prayers (from our perspective) do not prove that God does not exist because prayer is not a time for God to respond to us like some cosmic bellhop.  Logic also tells us that human faults, failures and foibles do not mean, ipso facto, that there is no God.

            But our lives are not simply logic and mind—but heart and soul.  God touches us there and responds to us on the heart level as well.  The Bible assures us that God loves us with an everlasting love, an unconditional love, a love that is beyond human understanding.  Don’t give up on God’s love, for he does love you and is ever ready to continue to demonstrate that love to you if you want him to—if you reach out to him.  We have materials on our web site that can help.  Let us know if we can be of further help with questions, etc.  May God bless you.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht