Authentic Freedom
For Nick and Megan, a CCL Teaching Couple and military family, understanding their shared fertility and forming themselves to God’s plan for marriage gives them a sense of freedom. Megan feels that freedom is a misunderstood concept in our culture today. “Society teaches us that freedom means the ability to do whatever we want, whenever we want. I have always been drawn to Theology of the Body. When you understand the way the Creator made you and your fertility, it’s easier to understand what true freedom is.” Nick first served in the Army and is now in the National Guard. Both Megan and Nick agree on what authentic freedom is. Authentic freedom is the ability to choose what is right with the foundational understanding of goodness, truth, and beauty.
Freedom in God’s Plans
“Learning NFP offers couples the gift of authentic freedom in their marriage. It is so much more beautiful than anything the secular world can offer. You are not a slave to desire or whatever pharmaceutical companies offer in various forms of artificial birth control. NFP offers couples another way to plan your family in accord with God’s plans. It allows couples to live out the fullness of fertility and their marriages in freedom,” Megan explains.
In the Army, you learn discipline, scheduling and routine, says Nick. “So waking up every morning at the same time, taking temperatures, and charting consistently was easy enough for us. However, facing Phase 2 abstinence during periods when we are trying to postpone pregnancy can be challenging. It’s great to know where we are in Megan’s cycle. But it can be frustrating as a couple when I am only home during Phase 2. During Phase 1 and 3 I am usually sleeping out in the field somewhere. We like to joke that, somehow, the Army is looking at Megan’s charts. The timing of my home visits is often less than ideal.”
With multiple moves, deployments, and long trainings, there was never a good time to have a baby by secular standards. Megan feels, “We probably wouldn’t have our first two children if not for the blessing of NFP. I truly believe that NFP helped us trust in God’s plans. Each of our children have been timed perfectly according to God’s plan, and each child was exactly what we needed when we needed it.”
Originally published in Family Foundations magazine, a publication sent to patrons of Couple to Couple League.