Yes, and well said. Jesus also cried from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” If Christ could feel abandoned by God, we certainly shouldn’t feel ourselves exempt. I always find myself returning to Tomas a Kempis’ take on suffering:
Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment, and still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross. Either you will experience bodily pain or you will undergo tribulation of spirit in your soul. At times you will be forsaken by God, at times troubled by those about you and, what is worse, you will often grow weary of yourself. … The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself.
If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load, though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man can ever avoid?
How trite am I? (On second thought, don’t answer.)
I agree the YEC framework is much more tidy. But in my experience, life itself isn’t very tidy. Nothing ever seems to go according to plan. I suppose that’s why I like heist movies. Ocean’s Eleven. The Italian Job. They come up with the most intricate, detailed plan imaginable, and somehow it all works. Reality is much more messy than that. So is the Bible. We’re all just muddling through, it seems.
On the “natural evil” front, attributing it to Adam’s sin is problematic, as you said. I always thought the “cost of creation” argument made sense. Here’s an old post on it by @Jonathan_Burke: