This is a small portion of my story, but I hope to gain insight from some of the other ladies on this subject. I was 20 years old when @Soldier's Psalm and I married. I had made a covenant with God when I turned 13 to remain pure until my wedding night. Without going into great detail I can tell you God protected me even in moments of anger and frustration when I was straying from Him. Thankfully! I thought it important to note though...it has not been easy, even after marriage. I battled a lot of negative self image because "I was no longer pure". My husband didn't even know about this internal struggle until about 3-4 years into marriage. Even after seven years of marriage I still have a poor outlook on intimacy at times as being something "dirty" or only for men. Sometimes I think we focus so much on being "pure" and not enough on, "Hey, this is a gift Yah has given to us in marriage. Enjoy it and unwrap it daily." I'm not saying purity isn't important, but maybe the message behind it could be brought to the forefront and help young women to know their value is not in their purity. Thoughts?