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Prompt of the week: NFP, baby!
(So, who has begun charting?! How is it going? What advice do you have? If you haven’t, why not? Are you considering?)
I love a topic that grosses most people out. But, if I’m begin honest, Natural Family Planning (a.k.a. NFP) grossed me out at first too. I mean…cervical mucus? Measuring…things? Watching things? I’ll save the finer details of it for some other day {read: I’m not actually going to blog about it…that is for you, your future spouse, your practitioner, your doctor, and God}. But here’s the deal: I chart. Furthermore, I love charting. Actually, I love charting so much that I wrote a post about it for Ignitum Today right over…here.
It is hard to believe that as of next week I will have been charting for three years. When I first started, I thought that this was by far the grossest thing my body did, but as I got into the system (I use the Creighton method, by the way…and not to start a method war!) I realized how beautiful it really is. To think that God designed even the tiniest detail of how my body works is simply mind-boggling. There are all kinds of stats that I could throw at you, or I could just send you to my practitioner’s awesome website. But beyond the stats (which, given my current non-married status, don’t really apply), there is such a beauty to charting. I get to know myself and the wonder that God created in me. I know how stress affects my body and my cycle. {Does anyone else feel like it just got super personal up in here?} Seriously, NFP is awesome stuff.
Now, of course, there are method wars about which method works better (mucus-only, sympto-thermal, etc.), but I don’t go there. I wrote a paper on the sympto-thermal method in high school, and while it was fascinating (and totally grossed out the male teacher who read it!), I just didn’t love it. My practitioner is someone I’m blessed to call my friend (in fact, I blogged about her…here) and she has been so patient with me over the years and taught me more than just the Creighton method. The beautiful thing about NFP is how pro-woman it is, it is empowering to learn about your body, your cycle, and every little thing that goes on that God planned for and put in each one of us.
While I’m happy to randomly talk to most people about charting and how awesome it is, I’ll save that for the face to face conversations. Here’s my advice: don’t think that charting and NFP is just for soon-to-be married ladies, because it isn’t. On the plus side, if I ever do get married someday, I already have a good handle on my cycle and my fertile vs. infertile times, which will help in conceiving/spacing children {again, super personal?}. But beyond the “someday” benefits, God constantly uses my chart to show me when I’m stressed and the need for Him in everything, even the tiniest little detail. Just chart (okay, my male readers can’t chart, but you get my point here). It will change your life and draw you closer to the God who knows you better than you know yourself.