It’s the third Sunday of October, so it’s time to meet another Spotlight Couple! Readers often tell me these are their favorite posts. They find these couples’ stories inspiring and their advice applicable to their own homes and marriages.  I hope this month’s couple, Daria and Kevin Bailey, inspire and help you in that way, too!

Daria, of the Groesbeck Fertility Care Center in Michigan, helped me out a few months ago with my NFP post. That was easily my most widely viewed post ever (like, by hundreds of views). People were very curious to learn why the Church is against contraception, and how modern Catholics use Natural Family Planning to plan their births while trusting God and staying open to life.

With her unique background, Daria was able to share how NFP can also help couples who are struggling to conceive and do not want to turn to invasive, expensive, and morally disagreeable procedures such as IVF. I am very grateful to her for sharing that expertise then, and excited to let her share the story of her own marriage and fertility challenges now.

Take it away, Daria and Kevin!

1. Tell us your story.

We met about 11 years ago at Benedictine College in the little town of Atchison, Kansas. We were both dating other people when we met, but as time went on we slowly separated from those relationships. We started out as very good friends, spending a lot of time getting to know each other and hanging out in big groups. We both agree it was the best way to start our relationship. 

We did not officially start dating until a year after we met. After dating for 6 months, we were engaged. Our engagement was a bit hard as Kevin was living in Texas as a missionary and Daria was still finishing out her senior year of college. Not getting to be together in the same state for extended periods of time was very hard on our relationship, but we did our best to make it work. The Lord really gave us a lot of extra grace in that time. 

We FINALLY got married in June 2013. We came across normal newlywed challenges, but also faced some not so normal ones within our first six months of marriage. Two months after our wedding, we both started new jobs, we moved to a new city, we became pregnant, and Daria’s dad passed away very suddenly. To say our first year of marriage was challenging is an understatement. Though this was a very hard time for our relationship and our families, God knew what He was doing. 

Flash forward to today.  We now have four kids and have relocated to the beautiful state of Michigan. If we could describe marriage in one word, we would certainly say it is hard. Period. But the hardships reap many rewards and so much grace that it is worth it each and every day. 

2. What do you two like to do together?

We love to laugh together! Whether it is playing a fun game or watching a comic on the TV, we just love to laugh. Life can bring so much stress, and although we love our four littles with our whole hearts, it is exhausting. Laughter is truly the best medicine. 

3. What does your domestic church look like? 

As a family, we truly try to put prayer first. Each morning before the big kids go to school we begin the day with praise, worship, and morning prayer. Doing this and making it a habit in our lives has really helped set the tone for the day for all of us. We attend daily Mass as often as we can, and pray the rosary as a family each night before bed.  We love to fill our home with Catholic art and to do fun hands-on activities for each liturgical season. Our domestic church is a very interactive and family-oriented setting. 

With trust comes freedom, and with freedom comes true and pure joy.

Daria and Kevin Bailey

4. What was a trial you faced in your marriage? How did you handle it? 

We became pregnant rather quickly with our first two kiddos. When we wanted to expand our family again, it quickly became clear that it was not going to be so easy the third time around. Sadly, we suffered three back-to-back miscarriages. These losses took a toll on us as individuals and as a couple. There was a lot of pain and confusion, asking God how He could allow this to happen. But each of us knew the Lord was in control and we had to come together through this struggle, not be separate in our pain. Two and a half years later, we were finally able to hand over our control fully to the Lord, and we had our third and fourth little ones. 

5. If you could give one piece of advice to a newly married couple, what would it be? 

Trust. Place your trust in God and in your spouse. Every relationship should be built on a foundation of trust. With trust comes freedom, and with freedom comes true and pure joy. This world is already filled with so much mess. Make it a priority to not have your marriage be part of that mess. Trust one another fully and all will fall into place. 

6. This month we are talking about loving our spouse in sickness and in health.  Tell us about a time one of you took care of the other who was sick or injured.

Daria has always struggled with anxiety and depression. Once our kids came along Daria really began to struggle even more. Though there are times where it becomes very hard to work through and deal with, Kevin has always been at Daria’s side to help her through this storm. Whether it was getting Daria to counseling or helping her discern if being on medication was the right way to go, the decisions on how to get better were always made together.

We have been very blessed to not have many physical illnesses in ourselves and our kids, but taking care of our mental and emotional health is just as important.

Thanks, Bailey fam!

Thank you so much for sharing and for your vulnerability, Daria and Kevin. I know any readers facing infertility, miscarriage, loss of a parent, mental health struggles, or so many other trials will find encouragement in your story. You are a beautiful family, and a great example of trusting one another and God with everything life throws at you!

If YOU would like to be a Spotlight Couple for a future blog post, comment below or contact me!