Hi,
I am sorry you are struggling. I thought about what you wrote and I have a couple of helpful websites/books that I think will give you hope. I think the important thing to remember is that if God is calling you to marriage then you are being called to marriage to a **SPECIFIC MAN. **A specific man who exists and he is in this world somewhere and he needs your prayers, because if he does not know how much God loves him, if he does not know that He has created you for him and him for you, then he needs to know and your prayers will get him there. The devil does not want this. He wants you to settle in your relationships and to let FEAR which is ungrounded in reality to predict your thoughts and actions. Remember to focus on your life now. There is nothing wrong with wanting love, and of course you do not want to be alone. But, is this something you should be fretting about now? Or perhaps God has given you this season of singleness to serve Him, to grow and to heal, and to pray for your future husband?
To be sure both of you are ready for each other at the same time, maybe you both have some healing to go through. Maybe some testing of your faith, to make you stronger. Because strength cannot come without exercise, and when you are given trials your virtues stretch and grow stronger, because you use the virtues God has given you. Like when we use muscles during exercise, it may hurt at first but if we do not use our muscles we become weak.
I know it’s hard to strive for purity. I understand you can be discouraged. Do not be angry with yourself when times are difficult, but turn to God for strength. Go to Mass and Adoration, pray and do not be idle. If you dwell on these fears instead of filling your life with opportunities to serve God and to heal yourself and enjoy yourself, the devil has you right where he wants you. Instead of praying, instead of living, he wants you to be paralyzed in fear. Do not let him. He knows the plans God has for you and He wants you to miss out!
Also, when you are the most tempted to give up, ask yourself: What if your future husband does exist? What if he has been praying for you all this time? And what if he waits for you and you never show? What if you never show because you were so afraid that you would not be loved unless you had sex with men who were not able to truly love you selflessly? What if he is looking for a young, strong woman like you who holds to her convictions and keeps her standards high, and he does not recognize you because you end up giving into pressure and fear? He won’t know how to find you if you aren’t shining as “a light of the world.”
What a waste that would be for both of you! Please, dear, do not give up. Do not give up. There are plenty of young men and women around you who are waiting too. But it is not something you can really know just by looking around you.
Here are some websites that I very strongly hope and pray you take a look at. Some are videos of testimonies of young women, others are websites with resources about chastity, and some are books. My guess is that you aren’t just looking for “fun”, you’re looking for true love. Having sex with men who do not see the beauty of your soul and appreciate that you want to share the joys of sex with your future husband are not worth your time, and you won’t find love with them. In the end, that isn’t fun at all.
- Theology of the Body Institute - tobinstitute.org/
- Chastity Project - chastityproject.com/
- Jackie and Bobby Angel - jackieandbobby.com/
- Woman In Love, Katie & Mark Hartfeil (Check out their book ‘Woman in Love’) - womaninlove.org/
5. “Romance Without Regret” (Parts 1 through 9) - youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9780B49A3BEAA33F
- “Our Love Story!” - youtube.com/watch?v=hAeDwQXI2fQ
- “A Surprise and a Pure Love Promise” - youtube.com/watch?v=DyWTcb9KCtc
- How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul: 21 Secrets for Women - chastityproject.com/products/how-to-find-your-soulmate-without-losing-your-soul/
- Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children - amazon.com/Hooked-Science-Casual-Affecting-Children/dp/0802450601/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418450590&sr=1-1&keywords=hooked+how+casual+sex+is+affecting+our+children
- Theology of the Body for Beginners - amazon.com/Theology-Body-Beginners-Christopher-West/dp/1932645349/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419051223&sr=1-2&keywords=theology+of+the+body+for+beginners
Hope all this helps! I highly recommend the book
How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul: 21 Secrets for Women, and to watch the video “Romance Without Regret” If you visit Jackie and Bobby’s website, be sure to check out their blog “The devil wants you to settle in your relationships”
Praying for you! Stay strong, and pray for your future husband. Try a 54 day Rosary Novena to pray for his growth in virtue (specifically chastity), in love for God and for his healing. Here’s a website to teach you how to pray it:
prayerflowers.com/54DayNovena.htm#Instructions