Growing in Faith and Trust through NFP
Through Natural Family Planning, Joe and Lori grew in their faith and trust in God. Their understanding of what it means to be pro-life grew alongside that trust and they have built their family of seven from that foundation.
The Trechters
Like many couples, Joe and Lori Trechter grew into understanding what “pro-life” means. When engaged and asked how many children they wanted, Lori’s first response was “zero,” and then, “maybe two.” Now they have six children.
That’s not because NFP doesn’t work. It’s because it does, they say. None of these children were accidents or regrets; Lori describes, “It was a growth in faith and trust in God that said, ‘You’re really better at navigating our family than we are, we’ll try and submit as best we can to Your will.’”
While their faith was deepening over the years, learning NFP prompted them to ask profound questions: “Should we have another child now and why or why not? What are our fears, dreams, goals?” They say, “Really the fundamental question NFP encourages couples to entertain, which is countercultural, is ‘Do we have a serious reason not to have another child?’”
Now Lori and Joe share what they’ve learned with other couples, including some of their own children. “Our opportunity to teach our son Joseph and his fiancé…that opportunity to witness and be vulnerable and share some stories that Joseph hadn’t even heard, and give them that foundation that we know is essential to a thriving marriage… that’s really a standout time,” Joe says. Lori adds, “I would encourage other parents to have these conversations with their children because who better to share with than family?”
Pro-life Challenge
In NFP’s pro-life message, they see a challenge the next generation is craving. “There’s so much noise in the world today with electronics and social media around us… the generations coming up are yearning for truth,” they say. “That truth is embodied in Jesus and all this leads back to a very beautiful design God has for marriage.”
Often, men personally relate to this challenge of NFP, Joe says. “They want to step forward and be a leader, be courageous, and this is a way that I can emphasize that we have a role to play. It’s not just our desires that need to be met. We need to place our wives’ needs ahead of our own.”
They know from experience that navigating NFP and family decisions isn’t always easy. While Lori was pregnant with their third child, they had the opportunity to adopt a seven-month-old baby, just two weeks before Lori gave birth. In under a month, they went from having two children to having four! And not long after, Lori became pregnant with their fifth child.
“When things get hard, I always come back to Philippians and ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’,” Joe says. “It’s worth the struggle because God blesses us in our marriages when we are in cooperation with His plan for our lives.”
Final Thought
Lori adds, “If you have health challenges, that’s all the more reason to learn about NFP and seek doctors that aren’t going to mask underlying problems. I’ve gone through challenges myself, but because I use NFP, I had a basis to know my body and be able to take that charting to different doctors.” She says, “I always refer couples to local pro-life clinics and the Saint Paul VI Institute.”
Why is NFP so important? Take the Natural Plan course for a quick intro. Learn Natural Family Planning – as an engaged couple or as a married couple.
Written by Savanna Duca. Original article can be found in Family Foundations magazine, a quarterly benefit to our benefactors and supporters.