Judy--in our country most of us live in what is, by world standards, Disney Land. Look at Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan right now. People are being killed each day by the thousands. Cities and homes destroyed. Families wiped out. And these are just the flash points of news coverage. We have not even touched on very oppressed countries, vast poverty, natural disasters, starvation, etc... This idea that God always has a plan for our suffering is very modern and for anyone who reads the paper, a cruel joke. Suffering just happens. Christianity does not have a teaching about it. The idea that we are fallen does not explain most suffering. Neither will reincarnation. Nature is rife with suffering. Everyone eats everyone else.

The goal is to find a way to live in a reality in which suffering is part of the world. For me Buddhism has been the way to do this. It may not be for everyone. But accepting that suffering along with old age and death are how this world works is the first step at freeing yourself from this struggle. I wish you and your granddaughter nothing but good luck.