Is God Really "My Buddy?"

Here's how little kids' minds work- when I was around three I guess I imagined that God was a little boy like me, and He lived in my stomach. He had on jeans and a red and white striped shirt. How goofy was I?
 I'd been exposed to the church since pretty much day one and I wasn't really old enough to question things that were presented to me as 100% fact. I thought there was a God since most people said so. I'd hear "God lives in us" and apparently I took it literally. I'd think "Wow...how does He fit in there?" Boy was I naive. Of course I believed in Santa too.
 When I got a few months older and wiser I figured that since it was God, He could do anything He wanted, so He'd probably made a nice living area in my stomach, and He could make it seem huge, since He was God. I pictured Him running around or riding a bike or having a Coke and watching TV. Thinking back it was comforting to know He was inside me, literally or not.
 I definitely remember the jeans and shirt, and He wore the same outfit every day, but I don't have clear memories of His face. When I think about it the old "My Buddy" doll comes to mind. It wasn't like God was really like a doll; I knew He looked human but I just can't remember His face well enough to compare it to anyone. My best point of reference was myself so I figured God must look a lot like me. The My Buddy doll thing fits perfectly and it cracks me up. The outfit's a little different and God didn't have a hat, and except for blue eyes I probably looked more or less like a My Buddy when I was the age it's supposed to be.
 Not long after I started working at the crazy restaurant I'd already made some friends that I have and talk to to this day, and Andy was a big one. He's an amazing cat. Also the My Buddy doll came out. Maybe it was the beginning of the end, but besides GI Joe and such it was the first doll for boys (it was soon followed with the Kid Sister doll for girls). It was cool though...at least they weren't playing with Barbie dolls. Oops, is that hate speech? Hope not. Anyway it hit like a storm and they came out with a great commercial with a sing-along tune, which we did. We sang the My Buddy song all the time, with anyone else who felt like joining in. If you feel like singing, click: here.

Incredibly at the time we were singing the My Buddy tune, my buddy Andy drew my name at the Christmas party that year, and this is what he got me- a genuine My Buddy doll. And they were extremely gard to find that year. How or where he got it I'll never know and I didn't care. I lost it. I remember being incredibly pleased and I think this photo, which was taken at the party, clearly reflects that.
 To say that was an incredible party would be a grave understatement. Just to give you an indication it was the first year we didn't have the party at the restaurant, because they'd gotten so out of control that it would literally take us over 24 hours to clean the place up so we said "Screw it...let somebody else worry about it."
 As if the party wasn't enough we hit a local bar called PTs after that, and shut it down around dawn. The place was absolutely packed to the gills but when I walked in with the My Buddy doll sitting on my shoulders, everyone thought it was a real kid at first, and a clear path parted from the door to the bar, just like the Red Sea. We knew the owners and some regulars, and when they found out it wasn't real they all had a huge laugh. The women there all thought it was the cutest thing they'd ever seen in their lives...a semi-grown man walking into a bar with a doll. If I hadn't had a date it would've been thick pickins'. I had My Buddy for several years. I'd take him everywhere just to see people's faces. It's fun when life works out like that.
 So is God really My Buddy? I don't think so. Did He really live in my tummy when I was three years old? It's doubtful but I can't rule it out with complete certainty. Is God my buddy? I'd like to think so.