Dear Kelly,

I've no idea what age you are (if you are young, high school or early college, it is one thing; if you are older and this was a mature relationship that seemed to be leading somewhere, it is quite different) or what other circumstances there might be in your case, so you are going to pardon me if I am a little general in my remarks. It would be easy to be trite and say, well these things happen, and leave it at that, but even if it is true that many times in our lives huge events seem to happen "by accident" and seem only to call for resignation, as Christian believers we have always to be able (and we can, since we have been given the gifts of Faith, Hope and Love) to go beyond the "accidental" and find the "providential" reasons to everything. This is how we find meaning.

So the first challenge in the situation you are facing is to go beyond mere acceptance. Yes, you feel crushed, and initially I don't think it could be any other way. You are a thinking, feeling, hoping individual, and all your thoughts, feelings and hopes were going in one direction, when suddenly God changed everything on you.  This is where you have to bring in your faith, and faith is what helps us not get stuck in our feelings, and it does so by allowing us to ask, full of trust, "OK, Lord, what are you trying to tell me?"   An event like what has happened to you is always God knocking at the door of our soul. With this experience you are beginning to realize that God is God and we are just his creatures. We have to give him his place. And we have to learn his love, even when the lesson is difficult to accept. You need to go to God, and tell Him you are crushed but that if this is what He wants, you do not want to get in the way. Ask him for the strength you need. Think of the good your friend will do if he really is called to be a priest. Then ask Him, "Lord seeing that what I had planned is not what You had in mind, what do you want me to do now?"

God bless. I'll remember you at Mass.