My Mom May Be Superwoman in Disguise: Reflections on a High School NFP Talk

I wish learning about NFP was the cool thing to do. I wish young women knew about it and chose it over birth control like someone with a sweet tooth might reach for cinnamon toast crunch instead of grape nuts for breakfast. I wish it was the “norm” in our culture, or at least presented as an equal choice when young women are given the option of taking birth control. Then I remember the reality: most young women have never even heard about NFP. You could say that we have a little ground to cover. I think lovers of NFP agree that in order to change the fact that most people haven’t heard about NFP, aside from living it, a small thing we can do is talk about it, especially with those who have never heard of it.During the start of this past school year, I was working as a long term high school theology sub for six weeks. When the opportunity to have my mom come speak about Theology of the Body and NFP to the religion classes came knocking on my door, I pursued it. In came my mom, the real hero of the story, who did all the hard work and presented to over 250 young women in two days. She had been wanting to present in a school setting, and this experience was a small but perfect start. It is from this experience that I can speak and offer two observations that may be helpful to those who have a love and appreciation for the gift that NFP is to their life. I love photography, art, thrifting perfect outfits, and all things related to beauty, which is probably why my first observation came to me while pondering the aesthetics of my mother’s Power Point presentation (Sorry mom!). During the first class, I sat in the back watching my mom click through the slides of her dark blue Power Point. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a student taking notes on her Chromebook with cute fonts and fresh bold colors. By the end of my mom’s presentation she had simultaneously listened to the talk, created an endearing Power Point from it, and emailed it to me quick as a flash. During that presentation and thereafter, I wished that my mom had beautiful technological resources that were tailored to, and would captivate and intrigue her audiences. This area where NFP, technology and culture meet is ripe for cultivating and exploring. The next time my mom gives this talk, I’d love for her Power Point to have a Bohemian makeover and to be peppered with beautiful videos of young couples telling their story of NFP and their marriage. I’d love for her to be able to close the presentation by showing the girls an app where they can track their charting, and giving them a beautiful brochure directing them to an interactive chic website on NFP. I don’t know what other ideas might be being tossed around in the minds of you NFP lovers in the realm of technology and beauty, but I do know I’d love for her to be able to use those too. As a community of people that value NFP, I hope we can work together to grow towards making NFP accessible to the culture in this way.The second observation I gathered from this experience can be summed up by the words “uncomfortable,” “growth” and “action.” Having my mom present was a step outside of my comfort zone, but I pursued it because I knew it was a good thing to do. While discussing it with a wise friend afterwards, I gained a valuable insight. She told me that it was okay to be in a place of discomfort for a little while, because this is where growth takes place. Whether it be a difficult conversation in the classroom, or having my mom come in and present to my class, I have to remind myself that discomfort is good because it means we are growing. If I could give myself a piece of advice to take away from this experience it would be twofold. First, I would remind myself to take the action, face the fears, and don’t let the opportunity slip away. We are presented with choices and opportunities, we are free to take them and exert ourselves a little for what we know would be a good thing, or through our inaction let them slip by. Second, I would remind myself to start doing things that are uncomfortable. Discomfort actually can mean growth is happening. In sharing things like NFP, I’m learning that just because I am uncomfortable doesn’t necessarily mean the other person is. Sometimes, I find myself imaging that people are feeling uncomfortable, but finding out later they really weren’t. Surprisingly, whatever happened was actually well received (this happened to be the case with the young women I was teaching and NFP). As we walk through this journey of life the things that we do influence one another. My little discomfort, my mom’s fortitude, and the persistent encouragement of a friend to share this with you are bringing words of this experience to your life. It’s my hope that you respond in whatever ways you are called to. Whatever you are moved to take from this echoes out to so many people, just like my mom’s presentation reached so many girls. I am reminded of St. Teresa of Calcutta as she said: “I alone cannot change the world but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” I wish you new ideas of NFP that are realized (especially in the realm of technology and beauty), I wish you the courage for discomforts that grow you, and I wish you action for all of the opportunities that you are meant to take.