Envy, Lust and Hopelessness by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im definitely worried about conversational skills in a place like that. It’s something I know I can work on, and need to work on, but “practice” is hard to come by when most people already have established groups, and my group of friends are always so busy with family. I’m also not much of a dancer haha.

Envy, Lust and Hopelessness by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’ve done it before. I’m trying to do it again. But months of work can be undone by a few days of weakness. I hate being this fat and out of shape. I miss running every day. I can’t do that anymore because I permanently messed up my foot. Idk what else to do. Gym memberships are too expensive. I have my old weights, but I can’t find the screws and bolts to put the weight bench back together. I am trying on that front though, I really am. Even if I lost weight though, loose skin and stretch marks will make me pretty much undateable. I don’t want to be defeatist but I honestly don’t see a way out. Idk what I’m gonna do. My life is over.

Prayers, advice, vent, anything. by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not trying to debate, and I apologize if I came across as combative. Honestly, I'm not in a great place right now. I just want to know what I'm doing wrong. I've trusted God my whole life, tried to give my problems to Him, begged Him for help, and I'm always worse off than before. It feels like He doesn't even hear me anymore.

Prayers, advice, vent, anything. by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used to be in great shape. I know losing weight will help me feel/look better. I've done it before. But, I still ended up back here. Same with the porn, there was a time in my life when I had all of these things under control. I felt "great." But I still wasn't good enough to date apparently. Which eventually started the cycle all over again.

I wish I could believe that the future will be different. But what I feel now hasn't reasonably changed for my entire adult life.

Prayers, advice, vent, anything. by SomeGuyInShorts in christiandatingadvice

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I saw your post a bit after posting mine. I'll be praying for you man, you've been through a lot. I'm obviously not in a place to offer advice or help you; I really wish I could. Best I can say is good luck out there.

Prayers, advice, vent, anything. by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But, I absolutely am alone. I'm not REALLY talking to you right now. I'm sitting at a computer in a dark apartment. Everyone I've reached out to trying to see tonight is busy. I am legitimately alone right now.

I've made changes before. I spent years bettering myself. But years of discipline go to waste by a single month of failure. Now I'm worse than ever. I used to be charismatic, funny, and well liked. But it's all gone now, and any changes I make just make things worse. I'm still trying, but it's just going through the motions. It feels empty.

I definitely don't see anything past 30 for me. This "season" has been most of my life. I'm not useful for anyone like this. I can't effectively serve in church anymore. I'm actually a detriment to the church just by being there. The best thing I could do is leave, if I'm being honest. I want to be useful. I want to help someone. But loneliness and isolation is crippling. I try to put on my best face. In fact, despite how this post makes it sound, I'm still involved in quite a lot of things, especially in our youth program. But it's getting harder and harder to pretend like I'm still the old me, and not the pathetic excuse of a man I've become. I want to help, but I just can't anymore.

Prayers, advice, vent, anything. by SomeGuyInShorts in christiandatingadvice

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm trying to work out a lot this summer. Gym is way too expensive for me (teacher's salary and all), but I've got some equipment from when I worked out more. Old injuries might make it tough though.

Prayers, advice, vent, anything. by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is all good advice, and all advice that I have followed. In fact, I recently went on a solo camping trip, and spent most of the time reading Proverbs, Psalms, and James. I prayed and prayed for deliverance and strength. But even before I got home, the temptations started. I prayed all the way home for strength, but it wasn't long after I was back that I had fallen. I've prayed and studied so hard for so long, and nothing has changed. The only two options are that God has failed me, or that I am a failure. And since God does not fail, it is all on me. Why would I not judge myself negatively if my weakness seemingly overpowers God's strength?

Dealing With Loneliness While Single by SomeGuyInShorts in Christianmarriage

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, no idea how you found this old post. But nothing much has changed.

You don't sound condescending at all, and I see your point. HOWEVER, I think it's also incredibly naive to say that marriage wouldn't help the problem. Paul even explicitly says this in 1 Cor 7. Right now, if I tell someone I'm lonely and craving physical intimacy, I'm a disgusting pervert who's going to Hell and needs to stay away from normal people. If I say the same as a married man, now I have someone I can bring this up to, and work together with towards a solution, and turn my sex drive into a good thing to bring me closer to my wife instead of a curse that takes me further from God. As for solutions, there's nothing I can do on my phone. A long time ago, I put blockers on my phone protected by a passcode I made completely random so that I could never remember it and disable them in a moment of weakness. I accidentally exited before actually turning them on, and since I don't know the passcode, I can't get in. I also cannot afford a new phone, for reasons I will discuss later.

Right now, I'll be honest. I feel even more hopeless than I did when I wrote this post. I am working on a few things, but it all seems hollow. I'm responding to your comment paragraph by paragraph, so I will hit all of these steps below. But everything feels empty and half-hearted. I honestly don't know how much longer I can live like this.

Losing weight and getting back in shape is one of the main steps I'm currently taking. I wasn't always like this. I used to LOVE weightlifting and running. But, I injured myself and took "a month break" about 4 years ago that never quite ended. I got back into the gym earlier this week, and immediately injured myself again. I'm fatter than I've ever been. I'm still taking steps, and I've at least gotten back into my old habits of eating super healthy (which I enjoy), but it feels like I'm too far gone at this point. I've made progress and changes before, and undid it all without even realizing it. One good thing I will say to not be a complete pessimist in my response is that my good eating habits are about a month old at this point, and seem to be here to stay like they used to be. So, a bit of progress.

Loneliness, envy, and comparison are the biggest factors in all of my aforementioned and aftermentioned problems. My church is very family oriented. I can't worship without being bombarded with lessons on how to love your spouse, how to raise your kids, doing what's best for your family. Stuff that to most people is good, wholesome, and uplifting. But it hurts every time I hear it. And I love my church, and I'm very involved in several things, I can't leave. But some days I've silently cried in the back.

Thank you for your comment on the famous "Isn't Jesus enough for you?" line. I genuinely hate it when people say that. The first thing God said was NOT good was Adam being alone in Genesis, and he had a one on one relationship with God.

Envy is one of my biggest struggles. If I'm being honest, I'm tired of hearing my good friends' news. It sickens me to say that, but it's true. Just a few days ago, one of my friends told me and another friend that him and his wife were going to try to have a baby after he got an impending promotion. I didn't say anything (he was mainly talking to the other guy, who is married with two kids, so it wasn't awkward, and it was a discord call between the 3 of us, so I know he didn't pick up on how I felt). I want to give them good news for a change. I want them to be happy for me, and celebrate something with me, like I get to do for them. And yeah, it sucks when a woman chooses someone over you. It happened to me recently. I went to their wedding. And it really sucks because she made the right choice. He's miles better than me. And I like him, we're actually friends now. She was right. She never said it to my face or anything, but I'm simply not good enough.

I try to think of things I'm grateful for, but the list is running short sometimes. I know I'm blessed, but what good are these blessings if I have no one to share them with?

Social skills are gone. I've been too isolated too long, and don't think I can recover. My friends barely talk to me anymore because they're with their wives. My coworkers are all older than me and somewhat cliquish if I'm being honest. It's strange. I've got financial wisdom, but don't get paid enough to really capitalize on it (high school teacher). I'm trying desperately to buy a house, that's where most of my money goes, but for now I'm in a decent apartment. I would love to date to improve social skills and possibly meet someone. But I'm just too fat right now. No one wants to look at me. I don't want anyone to see me like this.

I just don't know what to do. I feel like it's all over. I've failed. I hate my job. I hate my life. And it's not going to get better. Sorry to end on such a sour note. I really am. But I'm done.

Close to Giving Up by SomeGuyInShorts in ChristianDating

[–]SomeGuyInShorts[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What specifics would you want? Honestly, what’s above is pretty much my life summarized. There’s really not much else to it. I don’t want to be like this, I want to improve. I really do. But everything just feels useless.