Enemy Territory

For the king, whose kitchen I can usually be found in. 

Lord,
Forgive me.
When we were seated at dinner last night,
And saw the deadliness of the Joplin tornadoes,
The king of the castle proclaimed He could not believe in You.
It is a familiar complaint:
How could a good God
Allow something like this to happen?
I did not answer as I should have.
For this, I ask pardon.
I do not know how to explain to others
What I know so clearly:
That you are Almighty God;
That You created us to give us joy;
That You also gave us free will;
That we exercised that will contrary to You
And consequently, we screwed creation...
And ourselves.
The aftershocks of Eden
Ripple out,
And the devastation
Intensifies daily.
Lord, how do I explain to others
That what's happening are
The steps to final reconciliation
With You?
That the whole creation
Groans beneath the burden
Of the Apple Incident,
And that the entire universe
Is waiting to be redeemed
By You?
We are living in enemy territory -
A world that was handed to
The Adversary -
And as such, we are combatants
In the constant struggle of
Good versus Evil.
We are like soldiers
On the brink of annihilation,
Waiting for the good word
That at last we can go Home.
Specifically to the king I wish to say,
"Are you kidding me?
You could have been killed by glass -
TWICE! -
And you think there's no God?
He was with you those two times,
And countless others before and since.
Your mission isn't over yet.
Maybe He's keeping you alive
To do His work,
Or waiting for you to say,
'I believe in you'."
In every war,
There are casualties,
But unlike every other war,
The outcome of this has been predetermined.
Lord,
Help us hang on
To each other and ourselves...
Despite ourselves.
Help us wield Your Weapons
Defensively and offensively
Until we get word
That the struggle, at last, is over...