Guest Post
Guest Post: The SPIRITUAL Partnership of Natural Family Planning
This post is part three of a three part series on the Physical, Emotional, and Spritual partnerships of NFP. Parts one and two can be found here: PART ONE & PART TWO
As a hopeless animal lover, I was never a mom who adopted dogs “for the kids;” no, they were as much for me as for anyone, and we are all still feeling the loss of our two beloved beagles. Reflecting on that loss, I was brought back to God referring to Adam as “alone” even though he was surrounded by the animals in Genesis. I thought that no matter how much we delighted in lavishing affection on our dogs and being immobilized with laughter from their antics, that we were made for something more. The food, fresh air, and affection that completely satisfied our beloved beagles will never be enough for us. We’re not just physical and emotional beings, but are also spiritual beings given free will to seek that “something more” rather than being driven by instincts alone. What we always seek, in a word, is Love.
Guest Post: The EMOTIONAL Partnership of Natural Family Planning
This post is part two of a three part series on the Physical, Emotional, and Spritual partnerships of NFP. Parts one and three can be found here: PART ONE & PART THREE.
Jill Cherrey, the author of this post, is a SymptoPro Instructor from New Jersey. She also coordinates the NFP program for the Archdiocese of Newark and teams up with her husband to teach Theology of the Body classes to engaged couples. In her off time, she enjoys driving her Mom Taxi, cooking healthy meals, and reading non-fiction. She and Jim have been married 27 years, and are the grateful parents of three wonderful teens.
A wonderful memory I have from early in our marriage is of the day Jim and I chose to forgo a fun weekend getaway to respond to the local florist’s ad seeking delivery drivers for Mother’s Day. We were saving every penny for a down payment on our first home, and here we found a way to satisfy the real desire we had (which was to spend time together), and actually make $50 while doing it! Admittedly, the choice did not feel great initially, but it really was a fun day as we drove all over, and saw faces of joy behind door after door as we delivered flowers. I think a weekend getaway would have been a faded memory by now, while our sacrifice and creativity at the service of saving for future home created an emotional partnership that never ceases to bring a smile to my face.
While we have had other meaningful moments like that, it is Natural Family Planning that stands out to me as the foundational lifestyle choice we have made in our marriage that shares that experience of forming a close emotional partnership. Within the most sacred space of marriage, the couple who uses NFP rejects the notion that sexual intimacy is a form of recreation, and gives their heart and soul to something bigger; here, a free, total, faithful, and fruitful gift of their bodies is given to renew the vows that were the center of their day. A beautiful partnership is needed to learn and practice the method, but it is an emotional partnership that must be fostered for a couple to take on this choice with joy, discipline, playfulness, and success.
Guest Post: The PHYSICAL Partnership of Natural Family Planning
This is part one of a three part series on the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual aspects of the Partnership of NFP. Parts two and three can be found here: PART TWO & PART THREE
Jill Cherrey, the author of this post, is a SymptoPro Instructor from New Jersey. She also coordinates the NFP program for the Archdiocese of Newark and teams up with her husband to teach Theology of the Body classes to engaged couples. In her off time, she enjoys driving her Mom Taxi, cooking healthy meals, and reading non-fiction. She and Jim have been married 27 years, and are the grateful parents of three wonderful teens.
Guest Post: 10 Reasons for Using NFP
Today we're featuring an article written by SymptoPro Instructor Caroline Sholl. Originally published from her blog, she offers 10 great reasons why she uses NFP.
My husband and I have used Natural Family Planning (NFP) since the day we were married. We have never used contraception, and there are several reasons why. The main reason has to do with our Catholic faith, but below I've listed 10 other reasons why we use NFP.
1. NFP is good for the environment.
There seems to be mixed information out there about contraception polluting the water supply. According to this article, though, there appears to be a €30 billion bill proposed to clean up the water supply in England since it has been contaminated by synthetic hormones from contraceptive pills. By using NFP, I'm not urinating synthetic hormones into the water supply. Also, no pill packet or condom or ring or sponge means no waste going to the landfills.
2. NFP is good for my body.
Many women who buy organic food, hormone-free chicken, and hormone-free milk are recognizing that a natural method of family planning is more congruent with their lifestyle. NFP works with my body, not against it. I never suppress or shut down my reproductive system in order to avoid pregnancy and then expect it to start back up again when I want to achieve pregnancy.
