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All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and called according to his purpose. I believe that verse but I also believe that sometimes it might the passage of time to gain the understanding of how that good was accomplish in relation to a given situation. My beautiful wife and I were to take a class from a well known artist this afternoon, I made it but my wife was unable to attend as she was suffering with a migraine headache. We had signed up for this class months ago. I did benefit from the instruction but I do not see where this worked out for our good. Does my failure or inability to see the working of good in this situation, or any other situation for that matter, negate Romans 8:28, the answer to that would have to be a definite no. It seems that so many answers will not be given until we are on the other side, so while we are on this side we (I) can drive ourselves (myself) nuts with trying to understand and figure it all out or we can trust. My programming is such that I do the former before the latter.
The Lord has been taking me back to the time of abuse - and that is a place I do not like to go to! He wants to deal with more of it with specific focus on one individual. So this weekend I get to exercise the privilege of choice: Will I try to understand something that cannot be understood or trust that the Lord will be with me where he leads me. The Sheppard has to be present to actually lead the sheep. Healing or not being healed is a choice I must make in regards to this, and I want healing, but am I going to trust Jesus to do it the way he wants to rather than the way I want him to do it? Trust is a very powerful thing and lack of trust is equally powerful. I want to trust but I do not like the path and the subject matter that lays alongside of it. I hear a voice saying "Trust in me" inside the rock called my heart. I want to trust but it is difficult - I will trust though it be difficult. Blessings to you all.

I think that this world is so complicated by so much faith and lack thereof, consequences of personal choice and many, many other things that we cannot hope to understand any particular thing of our choosing. We can gain understanding. We can gain wisdom. But it is as God reveals it to us.

I don't understand how children suffering can ever be worked for good - I think perhaps, that verse means that God will bring good out of everything. It may not be best - it may not be what he would have chosen to happen. But there can still be good brought as a result. Some of the most unpleasant people I know or know of apparently had very little bad ever happen to them. As a result they lack empathy and are often judgmental. I went to a church filled with people who had led pleasant lives - oh of course there were illnesses and people died. But of all the people there were two children who had strayed away and very, very few divorces. I liked the people - but they would say things that would have been horribly hurtful if the wrong person had been present. They were soooo devoid of understanding. Not that they didn't try. They volunteered. It is hard to explain. It is similar to when I had a math teacher who had never struggled with math. Everything just always made sense to him. He couldn't teach worth a darn. Brilliant man.

But, I have learned, as you have said, we have to have faith now, and later we will understand. I rather hope we only understand for a minute - and then we forget the facts. I don't want to ever remember in heaven about children being hurt.