On God wanting me to be Protestant first

I used to believe this. Or rather, I should say I still do but it was poorly worded and needs quite a bit of clarification because people can get the wrong idea and defer from going to the Catholic Church until they are ready. That's not how it works.

One should not say it this way. God does not will anyone to be protestant, Moslem, Jewish, atheist, etc. To will this would indeed be contradictory and contrary to both reason and the faith handed down to the Church. Such a contradiction is heretical [and or] schismatic and would be akin to worshiping a false view of God. And there is no doubt that it is sinful to hold heresy, to be schismatic, to be a sectarian, to worship false gods, etc.

Now, that isn't to say that every or even most protestants (or whatever religion) are subjectively guilty of heresy, schism. They may err in good faith (at worst it might by a venial sin and one would still be in a relationship with God). But protestantism (in its various forms) is a matter of heresy. Hence, even if a person is not culpable, still there is an evil in the thing itself which God cannot be said to desire. How could he?

Nonetheless, it may be true that God moves us to......say recognize Him and because we are not perfect beings we may recognize Him, but then proceed to be protestant rather than atheist (or whatever faith). It is possible to say that one's time as a protestant was on the road to their being Catholic, as they were moved to accept the truth more and more. But insofar as one in fact accepts protestantism as such, with its errors, no, God could not be said to desire that.

It would be like God giving you nudges to go in a straight line but you keep swerving (this is where you go toward protestantism for reasons only know to you and God) but still heading in the same general direction (like a drunk man). God does not will you to swerve, but does will you to go in that general direction (which is the Catholic Church).

Now there is that question of what happens if one swerves so much that it's not heading in the same direction and away from Catholicism. Well that would be like leaving protestantism and becoming an atheist. I won't presume to know what will happen to such a person but chances don't look good. Only God knows.