I was raised in a strict, Catholic household and I wouldn't have it any other way. I remember always seeing the older girls in church coming in with their boyfriends, who for the most part usually broke up some time after. A few of those girls actually married those boys they brought to church with them, and it always made me so excited to think that I could be that girl in the future. Well, future me is here without a boyfriend, but I do have a clear marker for any guy I do begin to date.

If he won't come to Sunday mass with my family and me, then he is definitely not the man for me.

God is an important part of my life and always will be, and that is something that will be incorporated into the lives of my future children. I am not requiring my future husband to be Catholic, all I can ask is for respect towards what I believe in. Coming to church with me is super important, because it shows he cares about me and what I believe in, and I will always support him and what he believes in. God created each and every one of us in his image, and I would not be living up to the standards set for me if I put the church on the backburner.

I can't imagine being with a guy who refused to go to church with me unless of course, he was of an entirely different religion, which I would understand. By bringing my boyfriend to church, I am showing those around me that I think I've found worthy to show to God as someone I see a tangible future with. Any relationship I ever bring into the church is one I want to turn into marriage at some point because marriage is the ultimate goal.

God has chosen who I am supposed to be with, whether this is someone who I've been with before or an entirely new person who I'm still in the process of finding as my life moves forward. Whoever this person is, I know they will be worthy in the eyes of God, and hopefully in the eyes of my family and friends as well.

Taking a boy to church is the ultimate test for any relationship. In church, you tend to face scrutiny from just about every regular there is, from the gossiping old ladies to the middle school kids. If your person can survive coming into a church filled with people they likely don't know, they can survive any future family gathering.