I finished it that same day.
The book was entitled, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume.
It was about a pre-adolescent girl raised in a non-religious home who went searching for God. I really don't know why the book, written for young folks, appealed so much to me; I wasn't searching for God. He was right there and I knew it.
As Rachel brought home other Judy Blume books, I read some of those, too. One, I recall, was about a young boy who was overweight. All the Blume books were good, but none grabbed me like that first one I read.
The book had such an influence on me that God and I have an inside joke about it.
(He gets it, in case you're wondering.)
After certain kinds of days, I'll crawl into bed at night, give a sigh, and say, "Are You there God? It's me, Margaret."
God and I both have a chuckle, and I go to sleep knowing that tomorrow things will work out just fine.
Whatever Heaven is like (and I really hope there's some green grass and flowers and Jersey cows there, because gold doesn't appeal to me) I see myself standing at the gate saying, "Are You there God...."
Hopefully he'll chuckle and say, "Come on in; and by the way, your name is Donna, not Margaret."
Thank you, Judy Blume, for writing a book that has stuck with me since 1980.
