Even if I've rejected many other parts of Christianity, something I've always liked is the notion of Saints. I know there's even controversy around Saints in the Christian Church (is it worshipping idols? Some would say). Nana used to tell me to pray to Saint Terese of the Little Rose when I was a child - she's the Saint foe children. Nana used to say that if I prayed to her, my prayer would go to God straight away and he'd listen because he loves to hear from children the most. I remember one time after my parents had an argument (looking back it was actually not even a big argument but something must have put my on edge at the time) and I prayed for three days to St Terese of the Little Rose that mum and dad wouldn't divorce lol. It was really comforting for me when I was younger, I liked the idea of talking to a Saint - someone who once upon a time existed in the flesh - because it seemed more personalised. I don't think I've ever really been able to grasp "God" but Saints were accessible.
I've prayed to St Anthony (Saint of lost items) mannnnny times. My mum had a pair of tiny tiny tiny diamond earrings that I wore to High School in about Year 9, without her permission. I wore them for three days lol. On the third day, one fell out during PE and I realised when I was on the other side of the school. I thought "Mum is going to make this the thing I regret most." My whole class was stopping, looking through grass, basketball courts, classrooms, etc. I prayed to Saint Anthony that I find the earring at the end of the day, after calling the search off. I texted mum and explained so she'd have time to cool off by the time we both got home. Then, a peer (his name was Hamish) came running up to me with the lost earring! This earring is honestly the smallest earring you can possibly imagine. He found it in the BOYS changeroom (promise I wasn't in there). I could've cried. Mum texted me back, not knowing it was found again, saying "that's ok...earrings are made to be worn. Glad you got some wear out of them." So...two miracles happened here: mum didn't kill me, and the earring was found against all odds after praying to Saint Anthony.
One more, but not sure what to put this down to. My Poppy was the MOST wonderful grandfather, and he had numerous knee surgeries in my lifetime and he hobbled for as long as I can remember, used a walking stick, had braces on his knees, etc. He's the kinda grandad who never complained and even if I wasn't telling the truth in my stories as a kid he'd go along with it and not call me out (bless him). So, he died about 3 years ago and his last 6 months were really rough. But all of my life, he's sat at the kitchen table when we'd have family gatherings, and he'd slice up all the vegetables and the meat and whatever else, and he'd do as much of the cooking as he could from the kitchen table so he could sit down. He even bought a portable oven thing to sit on the table so he could cook from there because he couldn't stand up for long. Anyway, his death was real hard on mum (super Catholic). She wasn't dealing well, and then about a week after he died she had a dream that he was chopping food up at the table like normal, but then he suddenly got up and started walking into the kitchen. And mum said "Dad, what are you doing? Sit down, you'll hurt yourself" and he said "No, I'm not in pain. I don't feel pain anymore, I feel so happy." So mum obvs puts this down to Poppy weaving himself into her dream through some kind of miracle. I don't know what I put it down to. I can't imagine that her own mind/body would've come up with that considering the circumstances, but I don't know that it was the working of God either.
My Nana (Poppy's wife) (for the record, Poppy was Presbyterian and Nana and mum are Catholic) also has a few stories of people she knows, or people she's related to, having apparitions from Mother Mary after the deaths of their partners (usually due to alcoholism). But my Nana hasn't had an apparition. I think
Marian apparitions I genuinely fascinating.
Despite all of this, I can't connect with an image of God. I can connect with a message from God, but not the way Churches play it out. But, I guess I'd say I've experienced God, despite not believing in God, which makes no sense at all.
I'm a Hindu, and my experiences with God aren't necessarily profound. Rather, I see God in everything I do (yes, cliche, I know 
).
As a very young child (probably around 5-8), I went to a Temple (in Melbourne) and while I was praying, I accidentally burnt my hand on a lamp (the priest comes around to everyone and we all cup our hands over the flame and touch our heads, basically symbolising God blessing us). It was a burn that only occurred on one of my fingernails, and the nail turned pale blue. I remember this vividly because now I find out that burnt nails are supposed to go black, while bruised nails go blue. It was interesting because the colour was the same as the colour of Krishna a (Hindu God)'s skin in paintings and works of art.
Love this - I really do!
Fascinating question. As a self-professed ihavenofuckingclueist, this topic profoundly confuses me. 
The following example sounds mundane, and could easily be explained as a coincidence. And yet... and yet.
Where do you think your "ihavenofuckingclueist" situation came from? Is it a matter of, sometimes God looks real, and other times not at all? Or is it about Church teachings? Or are other religions throwing some confusing ideas into the mix for you? Of course, you don't need to answer. I'm just probing
I was also raised a Catholic. When I was in primary school I truly felt that I had witnessed god. Every time my mother and I prayed the rosary, she would tell me to smell the rosary beads. It had a sweet, flowery scent and I believed that god was watching over me. My mother would me tell stories about the devil possessing people and the imminent apocalypse. I remember I had a nightmare that was surreal. God was punishing me because I started having doubts. My legs felt like they were being dragged by evil spirits. As soon as I woke up I started praying crazily. No joke. I was scared shitless.
What made me "liberated" or whatever you want to call it was studying biology, reading up on the history of religion and watching many debates. So all is good now. However, I emphasize with children that aren't/weren't as lucky as me.
I think why some say they have had an experience with god because we’re pattern seeking mammals. We go throughout our day constantly processing and discarding irrelevant information. When we encounter something beyond our wildest dreams, some of us believe that it’s much more than just a coincidence. The desire to find causes for everything is all too human.
I'm really empathising with this last part you've written here. Thanks for sharing! I've enjoyed your insight
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