Girl, I Saw You… and I Was So Proud
By Mama Vicki
Every once in a while, someone comes along who gives you hope for the next generation.
For me, that's my friend Veronica.
She's newly married, a labor and delivery nurse, deeply in love with her husband, Parker, and completely unapologetic about living her Catholic faith. She isn't loud. She isn't argumentative. She isn't trying to convince everyone around her to do what she's doing.
She's simply faithful.
And I have to tell you—I watched something happen that made me so proud of her.
Before Veronica got married, our coworkers knew she and Parker had chosen Natural Family Planning instead of contraception. You would have thought she'd announced something scandalous.
The comments started immediately.
"You're coming back from your honeymoon pregnant."
"That won't work."
"We'll see you in nine months."
There were even jokes about people placing bets on when she would announce her pregnancy.
What struck me wasn't just what they said.
It was what they wouldn't have said.
If Veronica had quietly told everyone she was going on birth control, no one would have cared. Nobody would have questioned her. Nobody would have challenged her decision. Nobody would have assumed they had the right to comment on the most intimate part of her marriage.
But because she said she and Parker were using Natural Family Planning...
Suddenly everyone had an opinion.
Isn't that interesting?
We've reached a place in our culture where chemically suppressing a healthy body is considered normal, but learning to understand the body God created somehow requires an explanation.
I watched Veronica smile.
I watched her answer questions with kindness.
I watched her refuse to become defensive.
She wasn't trying to win an argument.
She was simply living her convictions.
And sitting there watching all of this unfold, I couldn't help myself. During our
podcast interview I interrupted and said exactly what was on my heart:
"Girl, I saw you... and I was so proud of you."
Because that's courage.
Not the loud kind.
The quiet kind.
The kind that simply says,
"This is how my husband and I have chosen to live, and we're at peace with that."
The Double Standard
What fascinated me most was the double standard.
Think about it.
Imagine two newly married women.
The first says,
"I'm going on birth control."
Most people respond with a simple,
"Okay."
Now imagine the second says,
"We're practicing Natural Family Planning."
Suddenly the questions begin.
"Are you sure that works?"
"What if you get pregnant?"
"Why would you do that?"
"That's so restrictive."
Why?
Why does one decision receive silence while the other receives scrutiny?
I don't think it's because people are trying to be unkind.
I think it's because we've forgotten that fertility isn't a disease.
We've forgotten that women's bodies were created with wisdom and purpose.
We've forgotten that marriage is supposed to involve two people making decisions together—not outsourcing those decisions to a prescription bottle.
What I Loved Even More
As much as I admired Veronica's composure, what moved me even more was the way she talked about her marriage.
She explained that Parker charts alongside her. She tests; he records the information. Together they know where she is in her cycle, and because he understands what's happening hormonally, he knows how to love her better throughout the month.
Can we just stop for a second?
That's beautiful.
It's about knowing your wife.
It's about communication.
It's about sacrifice.
It's about tenderness.
It's about learning to love each other according to the season you're in.
That's a very different picture than the one our culture paints.
Freedom Looks Different Than We Expected
Near the end of our conversation, Veronica shared something her husband once said that absolutely stopped me in my tracks.
After becoming Catholic, Parker realized something.
Everything the Church had asked him to embrace had led him toward greater freedom.
So he asked himself,
"Everything else is offering me freedom, so why would this be the only exception?"
I wanted to cheer.
Because that's exactly it.
The Church isn't trying to make our marriages smaller.
She's trying to make them holier.
She's trying to help husbands and wives love each other more deeply.
She's trying to protect the dignity of women.
She's trying to remind us that God's design is never meant to imprison us.
It always leads to freedom.
To Every Young Woman Reading This
Maybe you've already experienced the jokes.
Maybe you've been made to feel strange for trusting God's design.
Can I tell you what I wanted to tell Veronica?
Girl, I see you.
I know it isn't easy.
I know it takes courage.
I know sometimes it feels like everyone else has an opinion about your marriage.
But remember this:
Your marriage belongs to you, your husband, and God.
Not your coworkers.
Not your relatives.
Not social media.
Not the culture.
And if you're wondering whether it's worth learning to understand your body...
I can promise you this.
Knowledge is never the enemy.
Understanding your body is never a mistake.
And trusting the God who designed it will always lead you closer to Him.
That's why
Mama Jane and I keep having these conversations.
Because we want every Catholic woman to know this truth:
Your body isn't the problem.
It was beautifully created by God.
And yes...
You really can trust it.
To learn more join our free online workshop.