There was one other tiny precipitating factor. A friend loaned me a little book translated from the French Lui et Moi, He and I. It contained the conversation between a sweet nun from olden days and Jesus. Basically, the book went like this:
The nun would write down the date and location of where she was. She would say she was unworthy to be in the presence of Christ. And Christ would say, No, no, she was worthy.
The simplicity and innocence of this book touched me very much.
At some point, I said to myself: If this little nun can do this, I certainly can. I can do better than this. I can branch out and ask wider questions.
And that's how I came to dare to write to God and hear what He had to say.