Most of you are quite aware that I am Catholic. I am a cradle Catholic and I’ve alternated periods of church with no church. Since Christmas, I have experienced a no church period. This gets to be a little difficult, especially when it seems like I am surrounded by atheists and agnostics. That’s fine, until they start knocking Christianity in front of me.

Please, people, I have not asked you to think like me, to go to church, to live your lives a certain way, etc., but I do ask you to refrain from snide remarks about God and Church in front of me. This is simply something you do for a friend out of respect for that friend. Respect – an art lost on the mainstream American culture.

My mom is part of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) team at the church where I grew up. I like to go to the weekly RCIA classes with her when I visit. They offer support, fellowship, and insight into scripture. These meetings have helped me when I was going through some pretty hard times.

As many of you know, the last year has been quite hard on me. I just couldn’t get my head screwed on straight. Recently, even though things are quite uncertain, I’ve begun to become the fun, mountain biking Di that some people came to love, and others to tolerate. I’ve also realized that it is time to go back to God after a nine-month hiatus.