It is hard to really believe the world ever really existed where these things did not happen. The Bible suggests Gods control over nature such as the sun standing still and sending rains that flooded the earth. I just cannot believe that - earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates moving, hurricanes by natural processes etc

So we are left with an age old theological argument. God must:

Not be all loving or
Not be all powerful

That human goodness comes from suffering does not point to the existence of a God unless that God is only one of the above. The other alternative is to do what we can to make the word better and wait for some afterlife which does not seem very satisfactory to me.

I suppose I have come down on there is not some external God 'out there' controlling the universe, but an incarnational God sharing the world with us, actually not all knowing and all powerful, and to be found in the most unlikely places. But maybe I am deluding myself and the world is just hostile and random and I need to learn to deal with that!!

Tim