Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/82

Contributor - Mrs. Eileen Smith

Title - Family Planning The Natural Way

Topic - Family

Marriage and family! ... not an easy task!

Marriage and family - that calling by God of two unique people to be joined together in Him and become one. To become one and yet in a mysterious way remain two distinctly separate and individual persons, who by their union join with God in creating new human life - the family.

Families come in different sizes small, medium and large. Family size should be determined by a couple, after honest and prayerful consideration of their situation and needs, both material and spiritual. We do have a need to be able to control the beautiful gift of fertility. This is what Natural Family Planning is all about.

Natural Family Planning has always been a part of our marriage, and looking back over 18 years, we feel very thankful for this. Although lack of fertility knowledge made abstinence very frequent during the early part of our marriage, we happily planned three sons and, after a five year gap, a daughter. Our conviction that "natural" was right, was very deep. But after our fourth baby was born, concern about living up to our faith began to grow.

Then we discovered the Ovulation Method or the Billings Method, as it is often called and our lives changed. After a short instruction, explaining the simple facts about fertility, we became aware of the phases in my menstrual cycle, when a pregnancy could occur and the times when it could not. For almost nine years we have confidently used this method to control our family size, and our children remain four in number. Our acts of love remain free, open and uncluttered, my body remains free from drugs, and our hearts and minds remain open to another child, if one comes along.

Natural Family Planning works best in an atmosphere of mutual love and trust, and is indeed designed to foster those qualities necessary to draw a couple closer together and closer to God. Perhaps the most obvious one is the "togetherness" required - and how important that is in our busy world. The responsibility is not placed on one or the other of the partners, but both share fully in the decisions made with regard to their family size.

Abstinence, though hard at times, is accepted by both if a pregnancy is not desired, while an emphasis on other ways of showing love and affection prove to be invaluable to loving communication.

We hear so much today about freedom for women. Does this mean freedom from responsibility? It cannot mean that if we are to accept our role as Christian women.

I really value the freedom given me by Natural Family Planning. For no drug controls my fertility by abnormal hormone levels. I have no anxiety about possible side effects. Nor am I subjected to the presence of any devices, medications or barriers, either before, during or after lovemaking. Freely and lovingly a decision is made each cycle by me and my husband regarding our combined fertility. We are free.

The good things the Lord gives us are never meant to be kept to ourselves and it was this belief that led us to become teachers of the Ovulation Method. Almost six years ago, after a great deal of prayer and some training, we began to share our joy and knowledge with others. Upon request, we hold information evenings in Burlington, Ontario, and also, upon request, give slide presentations about the Ovulation Method to any group of people in the Halton (Ontario) Region.

More and more people are asking about Natural Family Planning, as they become disenchanted with the various means of contraception. God didn't forget anything when He created us - He did 'build in' a fertility indicator.

Natural Family Planning is not just a means of control, it is something much more - it is a way of life.

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