This was so great to read. We have really, really similar stories: I was raised Catholic, had a crisis of faith almost exactly like yours (about the judgment and hypocrisy of the Church, and the probable non-existence of God), followed by a period of maybe eight years or so of atheism, and eventually coming back to God through a loving interaction just like you describe.

It's just nice to read other nerdy, feminist, hyper-intellectual, liberal girls like me also being all Christian and stuff. I sometimes feel like it's, I dunno, just me and Leah Libresco out there in the middle of the Venn diagram of all that. Obviously it's not but it is just so nice to hear from others!