Sharing the Blessings
“We joke our relationship started over a bad beer,” shared Jess about her first date, at a Texas pizza joint, with now-husband Sam. “I was nervous when we ordered drinks and panic-ordered a beer I wasn’t familiar with. Sam could tell I wasn’t enjoying it and switched beers with me.”
Jess and Sam are physical therapists and parents of two little ones and have recently become an NFP teaching couple.
“As physical therapists, we see firsthand how important it is to prioritize health,” said Jess. “We have a home gym in our garage. On the weekends, we bring the kiddos to play with their toys while we work out. Our 2.5-year-old loves to watch his dad do pull-ups and will yell Go Dad! We hope our kids view being active as something they look forward to versus a chore.”
Surprised
Although Jess heard about NFP while growing up Catholic, she was not familiar with the intricacies of charting until her marriage prep course with Sam through CCLI. Said Jess, “In all honesty, I was a little skeptical about how effective NFP would be and if it worked in practice. While engaged, I began charting and within a few months I was ‘surprised’ to see that what I had learned in class held true on my charts.”
Through practicing NFP, the couple has come to a more holistic understanding of health. “When consistently charting, you realize factors such as sleep, diet, stress, and even increased or decreased activity levels can impact your cycle,” said Jess. “Prioritizing a healthy lifestyle has shown improvements (for the better) in my cycle month-to-month.”
Sam is convicted that NFP offers valuable health insights that couples who don’t chart may miss. “There are numerous instances of people gathering information from NFP that leads to identifying a treatable health condition,” he explained. “Case in point: Jess, in part due to information gathered through the Sympto-Thermal method, was able to identify low progesterone. That allowed us to supplement and optimize the early phases of her pregnancy with our daughter.”
Implicit Trust
Beyond physical health benefits, NFP has supported the spiritual-emotional health of their marriage, they said. “It is difficult to put into words the closeness and implicit trust NFP can bring in marriage,” Jess said.
“We have experienced an improvement in our communication and ability to be vulnerable with one another through NFP,” they explained. “Life throws curveballs at everyone; we are truly so thankful for the strength of our relationship. When the hardships do come your way, they don’t feel so burdensome when you are facing them with your teammate. Building the strength of our relationship has been such a gift, and NFP has been a big part of that.”
Impact of Teachers
Drawn to share the blessings they’ve experienced through NFP, they became a CCL Teaching Couple. They knew it could be impactful for other young couples to hear about NFP from someone their age.
“We want all couples, especially those just beginning their journey, to know the benefits of NFP extend well beyond planning the timing of growing their families,” Jess said. “It’s also a great gift that enhances communication. It allows a couple to appreciate all their bodies do every month, monitor for potential health issues, and avoid potential harmful effects of birth control.”
The Wenzlaffs love hearing other couples’ stories — it’s their favorite part of teaching. “We feel strong family units are such a benefit to community. We are inspired to see so many couples choosing to prioritize relationship and family,” they said.
Reflecting on their own relationship goals, Jess and Sam shared that when they married in 2020, the pandemic forced them to postpone their planned honeymoon to Ireland. They hope to make the trip on a future anniversary, staying in Airbnbs while traveling around the Emerald Isle.
Written by Savanna Duca for Family Foundation magazine. Savanna is a writer and creative strategist with a special interest in art, film, and entrepreneurship.
Learn more about teaching at www.teachnfp.org