Is it not amazing what an old house can accumulate? Having lived in my home for nearly two decades, I marvel at what I find when digging through closets, drawers, or bookshelves. A search through one stuffed drawer in my home this past week reminded me of moments of significance in my journey as a disciple of Christ. 

 

Nearest the top of this drawer are several folders from Cursillo, silent retreats, and parish days of reflection. Beneath those, I unearthed our original Worldwide Marriage Encounter dialogue books. I could spend hours leafing through these handouts, notes, and Scripture scribblings. Yet, I started my excavation with a goal in mind. So, with an archeologist’s heart, I continued stripping away the layers of spiritual history.

 

At last, I reached the goal: the spiritual gem of our well-worn Natural Family Planning (NFP) charts. These are from the early years of our marriage when we lovingly tracked biological signs of fertility to, at different times, postpone and achieve pregnancy. 

 

NFP refers to methods of family planning that are based on fertility education. Married couples do not use devices or drugs to get or avoid getting pregnant. The ultimate goal is to follow God’s design for marital intimacy: a total gift of self and a receiving of the other that is open to life. Through such a marital embrace, couples reflect the self-giving love of God for each of us. 

 

For both Tom and me, NFP promoted and increased our understanding of our fertility. It was not until taking NFP class in preparation for marriage that I learned that God created a woman’s body with several naturally reoccurring signs or biomarkers to help her identify when she is fertile and infertile. 

 

Not until taking that NFP class did my husband and I learn that by monitoring and charting signs of fertility a woman and her doctor can also identify possibly medical issues that may be playing a role in infertility. 

 

We learned also that the Catholic Church through each diocese identifies and certifies trained NFP instructors to teach couples this monitoring and charting process. The instructors walk with the married couples for three to six months to make sure they have the knowledge to walk on their own with the gift of NFP. 

 

My husband and I do not chart anymore due to medical circumstances, yet my spiritual archeological dig reminded me of the gifts we received from charting in our early marriage. We communicated in a consistent manner that brought us to a deeper level of intimacy than we may have achieved had we not used natural methods. 

 

The conversations we had when we discerned the size of our family boosted our spiritual connection with each other and with God. We tried to intentionally put selfishness aside and to consider God’s will and the goodness of children in our family and in our society during these conversations. 

 

We relied on the grace we received at the sacrament of marriage and our desire to follow God’s plan. With God’s help, we uncovered the strength and courage to embrace a period of infertility and eventually parenthood. 

 

The Church marks Natural Family Planning Awareness Week later this month, from July 23 to 29. The goal of the week is to promote education about NFP. One prayer the Church provides for liturgical celebrations for this upcoming week reads, “That husbands and wives will open their hearts to God’s truth about the sacred transmission of life and embrace Natural Family Planning as the authentic way to honor God’s plan in their marriages, let us pray to the Lord.” 

 

Should you wish for more information on NFP, please contact the Life and Family Evangelization Office at the Diocese of Rockford ([email protected]). NFP can help married couples honor God. NFP is a gem.