Assignment #4 - Max Carlson - Challenging Catholicism

I am, and always have been a practicing catholic. My parents are, and brought me and my brothers up in the church. As a young child, I doubted sometimes, but always believed deep down in Jesus and God. My first big challenge with this was when I was in the 6th grade. Our family was camping in the Natural Bridge state park when a branch fell on our tent overnight, killing my mom instantly and shattering my dad's left leg. Suddenly, in addition to the obvious other struggles this obviously caused me, I was fraught with constant feelings of why God would let this happen. I spent a lot of time thinking about why this could've happened and what we did to deserve this. That was the hardest time in my life religiously,and I personally almost left the faith completely. But after attending retreats and talking with youth pastor, I restored my faith over the course of the next year or two.