Are you there God? Its me Margaret.....

Chapel was a three times a week occurrence with a Sunday extravaganza (Sung Eucharist) every other week at school. 7 years. 21 terms. And an awful lot of Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and bi-Sundays in between.

To be fair I quite liked the calm 30 minutes before the day started, a quick peek to see your other friends from other houses, waving to them across the pews, "Ooooh Charlie has a new haircut", the whispering and giggling, being told off by the prefects for whispering and giggling, and lip syncing to the hymns cos it was not cool if you actually sung out loud. (Top Tip: If you mouth "rhubarb and custard" to any song it looks like you know the words!)

I wont pretend that I can remember much of the biblical aspects of Chapel, the readings and so forth - I think I have done better since I have been going to weddings, (1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 I practically know by heart! http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013;&version=NIV) - but the fables, the allegories, Winnie the Pooh excerpts - these have definitely stood the memory test.

I was in bed last night and like most people before one goes to sleep you analyse the day, what went on, promise to make improvements for tomorrow, but overall realise that you are indeed happy and thankful for the life you have. What made me laugh is that a part of this ritual I start with the opening line from a book that was often read to us " Are you there God? Its me Margaret...."

To plagiarise a little, Wikipedia describes the books as follows:

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a 1970 book by Judy Blume, typically categorized as a young adult novel, about a girl in sixth grade who grew up with no religion. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, and the novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts many other pre-teen female issues, such as buying her first bra, having her first period, coping with belted sanitary napkins (changed to adhesive sanitary pads for recent editions of the book), jealousy towards another girl who has developed a womanly figure earlier than other girls, liking boys, and whether to voice her opinion if it differs from those of her friends.


Blah blah blah. OK, maybe it didn't stick in my mind as much as I thought - i obviously totally missed this quest for Margaret in finding a single religion - I am guessing this was actually the point at school - what I do remember however was the language and style used when Margaret was talking to God. It was kind of like popping into your Grandads for a cup of tea, sitting on his knee, discussing what seem to you very real and very important 10 year old issues. Him listening and giving you the answer or at least making you think about the answer in a way that never occurred to you before. Amazing.

Twenty years later I am still doing exactly that. Not every night, not every week, but when I need to "pop in and have a chat" and generally get it off my chest all I have to do is ask...."Are you there God? Its me, not-Margaret"...I don't often get a reply but I know someone, something out there in the Universe is listening.