DAVE SAYS:I spent about nine years of my childhood in a town in East Texas,
where we were one of about four Filipino families in town. Being among the minority had various consequences – it made me proud to be who I was, and I had a tendency to stand out (which was both good and bad), but it also really encouraged – required? – me to keep an open mind.
Growing up, my parents always said they were OK with me dating whomever I wanted. Many times I got the impression that deep down, they wanted me to marry someone of my own ethnicity, but in the end, they said that as long as I was happy and we treated each other right, that’s all they could ask for.
Dianne and I had previously exchanged messages on CatholicMatch but lost contact. Once I discerned that I was called to be a husband and father (not a Father), I decided to renew contact, and that was just the beginning of our story. As we talked and then went out on dates, I found her beautiful in so many ways, and our different backgrounds just didn’t matter. She made me happier than I’d ever been, and that’s all I needed to know. It may sound cliché, but I knew God placed her in my life for a reason. How could I second guess that and say, “Well, gee, she’s great, but her skin tone is a little off…I’ll pass, Big Guy�
Despite living in different cities from our parents, we soon introduced each other to the future in-laws. Throughout our dating phase, we spent various times with each other’s family, and they all saw how great we were for each other. So as news of our engagement spread, we got mostly supportive feedback from everyone, including my parents, echoing much of the sentiment I heard as I was growing up. (Guess that study cited in the blog post was right!)
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