Years ago, a baby elephant was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Since I lived within walking distance of this newborn neighbor, I grew surprisingly attached to him.

Over the past year or so, I have been blessed with the opportunity to attend a number of beautiful Catholic weddings. Most of my close friends (and some of my siblings) are now of a marrying age, and it has been a joy to see many of them starting new lives with their spouses.

In every community of faith – as in any other society or family – there are always those who take on roles of enormous yet underappreciated significance.

I am sure many of you are familiar with the television series about the life of Jesus called “The Chosen.”

I was raised a Roman Catholic and essentially inhaled the religious ethos of Roman Catholicism.

Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to drive me to an airport, meet me at a train station or share the trunk of a car with me on a road trip can tell you one thing: I do not travel lightly.

Anyone who reads the daily newspaper finds within its pages a glimpse into the sorrow and despair that is – and always has been – a part of human life.

The road to negotiate depression and its impact on my life and religious views has been a lifelong one. What follows is a description of my decades-long and continuing evolution, unfolding more each day, as a Christian.

Since childhood, Kathy Izard felt like she was being called to do something important with her life.