I'm 21 and my boyfriend is 26. All my relationships involving men till him had been abusive and I was really skeptical, but there is so much good in this man that I just couldn't ignore it. I've grown mentally, emotionally (I can cry now because I feel safe) and spiritually. He has shown me how skewed my view of relationships and especially men was and as a result how it affected my relathionship with God.

I've also seen him grow so much too. He lost his father when he was young and his grandfather a few years ago and he just kind of lost himself. We talk about faith often and he's recently started talking to God again.

That being said I've received mixed responses about our relationship from people I value in my life. Some are ecstatic for me, but some say he's not a bad guy at all but that God has better for me: that if I give God time to work I will find a nice Christian man that will help me grow more than my boyfriend ever could.

I have never felt wrong being by his side. He leads with me in mind. We lift eachother up and are always willing to give. And for the first time in my life I feel safe enough to think about further than just tomorrowand embrace God's vision for my life. But am I just blinded by love? Am I too optimistic to believe that this will work?