To the woman of my dreams:

My name is Benjamin, and I'm now 22. I forgot to send you a letter this year, but it's just because I've been learning so much about what it means to be with someone that, perhaps for the first time, I was completely focused on something other than being single. In the first few months, the most important thing that I learned about the husband-wife relationship was that I, as the husband, should "love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Learning that really showed me how infantile my attitude was towards relationships. The whole point of a relationship is to suss out if we're suitable for each other, to see if I can fulfill that kind of commitment to you, and if you can "submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:22) If that's not possible, then whether or not you're the woman of my dreams, we cannot be together.

Before, I would've asked if we were able to live with each other's eccentricities, and while it is still an issue to deal with, it's not the focus of the relationship. I want our relationship to help each other grow in God, and mature in the Holy Spirit, so that if we do indeed get married, that I can fulfill my duty to bring you, "holy and without blemish". I have seen many couples around me whom I feel have done the same, and I want to do the same for you. This is how I intend to show my love for you.

In my previous letters, my promises have been as such:

Now, my promises have changed.