“I won’t argue that the world isn’t broken. But it’s not the absence of God; it’s the presence of sin that’s responsible for the pain and suffering here. God’s presence gives us hope. The Good News of the gospel is the story of God—”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Why doesn’t he just stop it all, stop all the suffering? If he’s all-powerful, he could.”

Oliver could see that underneath all the nervous energy was a lot of pain. What had hurt this woman so deeply? he wondered. He struggled to find the right words, to know exactly what would impact her.

“And he will. I don’t claim to understand all the ways of God. But I trust that he knows what’s best. Besides the Bible, another way to learn about God’s character, his purpose, is to be around people committed to him. Why don’t you join us for service on Sunday?”

She struck him as a true seeker, but she flatly rejected his invitation. “I don’t do well in crowds.”

He tried again. “I’ll pray with you. I’ll help you understand the passages in the Bible you struggle with, and I’ll point you to comforting passages, but trying to work this out on your own won’t give you the whole picture. It’s been my experience that it helps to be around and involved with God’s people.”

“It’s been my experience that it’s best to not trust people at all. I’ll keep to myself, thank you.”

She’d left, and he’d never spoken to her again. He wasn’t certain he’d helped her, and he wondered what had happened in her life to make her so closed off. But recently he had hope that some of what he’d said had sunk in and borne fruit. Harp was venturing out more and more—he’d heard as much from others in his congregation. She’d even been seen flitting through the market in town. When she did come and go, she did so quietly, and a lot of the chatter about her had died down. Since their first meeting perhaps four years ago, Oliver had Livie Harp on his prayer list. He prayed that she’d keep searching and find what she was looking for.

Would she stay in her home with the fire advancing that way?

Boom! The sound of an explosion in the distance made Oliver duck reflexively. He turned, but all he could see from here was wildfire smoke. As he recalled, several people out that way had propane. A propane tank explosion would only exacerbate an already-dicey situation.

Oliver hurried back to the incident command post, which was a flurry of activity. There he heard the words that just about made his heart stop.