McQueen's POV.
Even with all the suffering…
I didn't complain to my parents.
Not because I didn't feel the pain.
But because I could see theirs.
They were trying.
Every single day.
And somehow, even in the middle of everything we lacked—
We were still a family.
A happy one.
Not because we had food.
Not because we had money.
But because we had something else.
Faith.
Every evening, we gathered together.
Praying the Rosary.
Reading the Word of God like it was food for the soul—because sometimes, it was the only thing we had in abundance.
But I wasn't always understanding.
I wasn't always this… calm.
When I was younger—around eight, maybe nine—
I was angry.
Not at life.
Not at people.
At God.
I remember one night clearly.
My stomach was empty.
The kind of empty that makes sleep feel like punishment.
I turned to my mother, frustration sitting heavy in my chest.
"Mama…"
My voice was small—but filled with something bigger.
"Why does God hate us?"
She looked at me.
Not shocked.
Not angry.
Just… quiet.
"Are we not serving Him well?" I continued.
"Do rich people serve Him better than us?"
"Why were we born like this?"
"Why do we sleep hungry?"
The questions kept coming.
One after the other.
Like I had been storing them for years.
"Are we not good enough for God?"
Silence filled the room.
For a moment, I thought maybe I had said something wrong.
Something unforgivable.
But then my mother smiled.
Softly.
Gently.
The kind of smile that didn't come from happiness—
But from understanding.
"Everything happens for a reason," she said.
Her voice was calm, steady.
Like she believed every word.
"God will never give you a burden you cannot carry."
She reached for my hand.
"And He has a greater plan for us."
A greater plan.
At that age… I didn't fully understand it.
Because to me, it felt like God trusted us a little too much.
But I held onto her words anyway.
Even when I didn't believe them completely.
Even when doubt whispered louder than faith.
Because sometimes…
Even as Christians—
We struggle.
And sometimes…
Believing is the hardest thing to do.