If you cross the boundaries of sex during dating, you should stop that dating venture for your own good. Something has been compromised, and that thing is the foundation. A structure can never outgrow its foundation, and your union, if you go ahead with it, will suffer from that blunder and, in all likelihood, never bloom.
You can not fix a cohabiting situation into a stable marriage even if you perform a wedding later.
Other people take the traditional way because it's more permissive, intending to come back to the way of their convictions and faith later. Every system has its own energy, and you can not cheat your way around it. Traditional system was never designed for love. There was no word like that even. At least not the kind of love where the partners become companions and one flesh. It was all about reproduction and provision. Women had no dreams and no voice, so a man couldn't hope for a companion on his level. He needed to marry many women and have multiple homesteads, which actually left him without an emotional soulmate.
Again, you can force your way after crossing the lines, but something will be lost and for good. For one, when you enter sexual compromise, you lose touch with your intuition and your spiritual guide. Your body and your feelings take over, and you start groping in the dark. You struggle with guilt and doubt. This is not the mindset with which you want to put the foundation for a lifelong thing.
In short, your potential is a delicate thing. Do not risk it by skipping stages and mixing yourself up. You may part ways with it for good. The moment you start a questionable union according to your internal values, your conscience will convict you for a while and then go silent when you keep ignoring it. That's how you lose your bearing and your radar in life.
From then on, you will live an impostor life, and you will know it. You will feel a flood of sadness every time you come across someone walking in the path you know was yours as well. If you're already in a situation right now, just turn back. The first step when you find yourself in a ditch is to stop digging. Stop digging and start climbing out.
This way, you give your life a chance of amounting to what was intended for you. You will also know that you almost traded your destiny for the wrong union.
(©️ Benjamin Zulu Global)