God is BIG!

Well...here I go...getting on the "blog train". I figure I observe so many things in life, I may as well write about them and give the world some comic relief.
Let's talk about "church folk". Church folk range from the "pius super spiritual" folks (you know...the ones that think the color of your nail polish has a spiritual meaning to it) to the "fair-weather faith" folks (the ones who go to church on the usual holidays and when "hell" breaks loose in their lives). I must be smack dab in the middle because I have seen both extremes within every church I've ever attended.
I'm one of those individuals that grew up in a Christian household. I grew up going to church on Sundays...however my parents were never ones to "live" at church. We went to church faithfully every Sunday, however you didn't see our family again until the next Sunday. I seemed to conclude at a very young age that my parents were crazy about Jesus, however not so crazy about His followers. To my Mother, church folk were just nosey people who wanted to get into your business and my Mother made it her business to keep them out of ours. So, I went to a church who knew our family name, but didn't know us personally. I grew up thinking that was the "Baptist" way of things.
My Mother, was of course, a faithful perishener while my Father was faithful to attend Communion Sundays and some holidays. I can say that I truely learned what the unconditional love of God was through my Mother. My Mother spent time with me at a very, very young age, talking about who Jesus was, teaching me passages of scripture and prayer. One of my most vivid memories was of my Mother teaching me the "big girl prayer" (e.g. The Lord's Prayer). My "now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep" days were behind me. Now I could say the "big girl prayer" with the other adults.
Being inquisitive as a child, my Mother quickly realized it was the way I learned. I asked tons and tons of questions and never once can I recall my Mother discouraging me from asking questions or never giving me an answer to a question. I vividly remember a conversation that went like this:
TC: "Where is God?"
Mother:"Everywhere."
TC: "Can he see me?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "Is he in here?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "Is he looking at me right now?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: :::I began to waving my hand as if to say "hello"::::
TC: "He's everywhere?" I said, needing reassurance.
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "Is he outside?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "Is he in the sky?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "Is he in the trees?"
Mother: "Yes."
At this point, I'm finally starting to "get" this God that my Mother loves so much. At this tender age, I began to realize how big he is. He no longer was mystical or magical to me. I remember thinking, "God is bigger than magic." (Magic to me, as a child, was just out of this world!) My inquisition continued...
TC: "Can I talk to him?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "Will he talk to me back?"
Mother: "Yes."
At this point, I decided to test my Mother's theory. I went to my bedroom, set up my checkerboard and said, "God, do you wanna play checkers?" I waited for an answer...nothing. "I'll go first.", I said, think he was being a gentleman and waiting for me to make the first move. Nothing. Back to my Mother I go...
TC: "Are you sure he's here?"
Mother: "Yes."
TC: "I asked him to play checkers with me and he's not playing with me."
Mother: "He's probably just busy. He's got the whole world to take car of, you know."
TC: "Oh."
I then proceeded to go back to my room, put up the checkerboard and said, "God, let me know when you're not so busy." So there you have it.