I'll start by thanking you for reading this long, (silly?) request....I humbly ask whoever may read this to please pray for me, I am a 20 something year old woman, longing to love and serve the LORD. I ask for prayers that I may be a good and diligent servant of Gods in this life, that I may accept whatever it is He wills of me and for the graces necessary to do so. If there is one thing I desire it is to be brave and all giving of my love for Christ and His Church, please pray for me to be able to do so in whatever way He wills.

I have LONG felt called to be in the vocation of wife and mother. I am slightly embarrassed to say that often my soul literally aches for this vocation.

But I don't know if it is from doubt in the LORD or humility or discernment or what but I have as of late begun praying for the LORD to remove this desire from my heart because the state of being single and holding out for a man who I feel called to marry is really becoming so difficult to carry. I don't want to feel rejected or jealous of what I do not have, and I feel as I get older I may start to become that way

I wish I wasn't so attracted to this vocation. I wonder if I should accept life as a single person, but it just feels so empty and not enough---perhaps this would be a cross I could offer the LORD? To be denied something my heart longs for so badly seems to be a good thing to offer the LORD but I can find no peace, even though I try to accept this way of life. Perhaps I am being prideful, vain, jealous, selfish in wanting to be a wife and mother-- I just wish to give my love for God in this manner...

On a side note, i have discerned the vocations of becoming a religious sister or consecrated women, and I see incredible beauty in these but I unfortunately do not believe I am being called to that.

Any words of encouragement/advice or a prayer above all else would be so much appreciated!!

Thank you again for reading/praying/responding! I pray for you in return!!! JMJ +<3 +

I went through the same thing when I was younger. First I longed to get married but when I did not meet someone good, I tried to enter the religious life. I got some recommendations of monasteries from a priest but when I was about to start the search, I felt strong fear and I stopped perusing that road.

Then I turned to praying a lot, and discovering my Faith, and I gradually started not caring if I ever got married. Whenever I prayed the mystery of the finding of the Child Jesus in the temple, I would ask God to show me what vocation He wants me to follow. I then interiorly started believing that whatever God wills I will follow- and I felt more secure as long as I had Him. I felt happy and at peace once I left it all to God and stopped worrying about it. Then when I did not care which way it goes is when I got to know my future spouse.

That feeling of not caring which way it goes was a gift from God (because I did not have it before). I believe that once a person starts praying and sincerely following God, the things that are burdensome become less so.

In your case, I would pray about it- and ask God to guide you and strengthen you in accepting whatever He chooses for you.
St Teresa of Avila said "If you have God, you will want for nothing. God alone suffices".

I too know what it is like to hope for the vocation of wife and mother and not achieve it. I finally reached peace on my 50th. birthday. It was like a present from God. If I get to serve him as married, or I get to serve him as a single, I get to serve him.

I also know that somehow...someway, he will use those gifts in eternity. I can't know how that will be, but he never gives us a gift without using it.