In celebration of Modern Love’s 20th anniversary last month, we published a special package of articles about the column’s history and impact.
To learn about the origin of Modern Love, read about seven ways to love better, see how the longtime illustrator creates his images, and much more, go to nytimes.com/modernlove.
In this space, as each week’s Modern Love column, we are republishing four “classic” essays from earlier years that especially moved us.
When you are raised to be a good Christian girl, you don’t just go to church; you date the church. Church is the significant other with whom you spend weekends and evenings, the boyfriend whose friends become your friends, the girlfriend with whom you share all your dreams.