In my journey through the Christian life, certain spiritual mentors have guided and shaped me in profound ways. In college, it was St. John Paul II whose rich writings I studied under the gentle wisdom of a small but mighty gray-haired priest with an effusive smile. My faith was deepened in a way it never had been, and Pope John Paul II's death marked one of those days when you remember exactly where you were when you heard the news. After college it was Henri Nouwen whose te

Choosing to stay faithful to Church teaching, faithful to your husband and faithful to your body is pro-life, even if it means not having children at all. By choosing not to pursue anti-life options, you're standing up for life. By not commodifying children, you're protecting a culture of life and your options of showing it are limitless.

Nearly 10 years later, I still think about that version of myself that had to sit there and begin to process the reality of my complete infertility. There is still a part of me that has been frozen, stuck in that doctor’s office. And I avoided that 19 year-old as much as I could over the near decade. My fertility was gone and, with it, my worth. Or, at least that’s the lie I told myself.