Tony and Celena’s Love Story
Real couples really do use NFP, and we asked Tony and Celena to tell us their NFP story — the good parts and the struggles. This couple is writing their own love story, and has chosen to do so by following God’s plan for marriage.
Here is Tony and Celena’s story.
Were you initially skeptical about NFP?
Yes. We knew contraception was wrong, but we didn’t know the why. NFP helped us discover that.
Has anything surprised you about NFP?
Although there is a lot to take in when learning and putting the method into practice, it has taught us so much about our bodies and how miraculous God is. Our surprises have been seven beautiful babies that have given us the gift of parenthood. Without NFP we would have never experienced this!
What changes have you seen in the dynamics of your relationship since starting natural family planning?
We promote/give talks on NFP to engaged couples and we never thought we would do that. It has made us more compassionate toward each other, as well.
Did you and your spouse ever disagree on NFP?
Yes. Some days we want to throw it out the window and just be open to God’s will, some days we don’t want to even come near each other for fear we may become pregnant, other days we are happy with how it is going. After the birth of our 6th baby we have started to take classes on the Creighton model and we are learning even more.
Does practicing NFP help you better understand the Church’s teaching on contraception?
Yes. We have done a lot of research ourselves (Chastity Project, Janet Smith, Good News About Sex and Marriage by Christopher West, St John Paul II’s Theology of the Body) so understanding how contraceptives work and what they do to your body helped us to understand we are at war with our own bodies and it takes God’s design for sex (unitive and procreative) out of the picture.
Has using NFP affected your relationship with God? How so?
Yes. His plans are always better than our plans. It has shown us how creative He is and how much love He has for us. It has also helped to understand the importance of the family and our roles as men and women in a marriage.
For and intro to NFP, CCL’s Natural Plan program is specifically for newly engaged, newlywed and already married couples who want to understand what NFP is and why it is worth a try.
For those ready to explore NFP class options, see the CCL CLass Comparison Chart.