I\\\'m in love with one of my friends.

I'm in love with one of my friends. She doesn't know that I'm a lesbian, and there's no way that I could ever tell her. I've never been so in love with a person in my whole life. It came on slowly. I started wanting to hang out with her more, and I got that nervous excitement every time I saw her or got a call from her. We spent more and more time together, talking about ourselves, hanging out, learning to trust each other. She's very beautiful, but she becomes even more beautiful every time I see her. I'm so in love, and I know I can never be with her. She's straight, and very religous. I kind of envy all of the joy and comfort her religion gives her. I've started trying to shut her out, because I can't stand seeing her and being so in love and know we can never be together. I don't want to shut her out, though. If I can't have her to love, I at least want to have her as a friend. I don't know how to. Please help, I don't know what to do.