‘Belong to Me’ by Marisa de los Santos

Let Love Win

I just finished this delightful book, Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos. It’s the kind of book that leaves you aching, a bit scoured but hopeful. Can I love like Cornelia is trying to love? She’s not a saint but she’s willing to figure out how to let love win.

I’m using the word “win” but maybe it’s simpler than that – if I let love rule, take over a larger part of my life – my heart, my mind, my actions – then by simple observation there’s less room for hate, anger, judgement, self-righteousness, entitlement. When that happens, I consider it a “win” for love (Hey! I grew up in a family of ten, playing sports, and while I can pretend not to be competitive, please don’t watch me play Wii.)

I don’t pretend to have answers to the BIG problems like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, healthcare, religious intolerance, bigotry, the endless list of problems that make many of us feel small, helpless, maybe even hopeless. I don’t know how love wins in those venues although I am confident there are small victories every day…

How do I let love win in my little life in a small northern California suburb? My daily work. My family. My friends. My community. In the hard moments of discouragement, judgment, self-righteousness and when life is plain unfair. When people are hateful and cruel. When people step on me. When I step on them. Where every shred of self, self, self wants to win. My path is littered with the times I’ve failed to let love lead and my heart aches…but not always. (Just being honest.) I am a work in progress. I hope.

I want to let love win.

Cornelia is trying. I want to try, too. What would happen if we all tried?

Love Walked In is the first book introducing the characters of Cornelia, Teo, Clare, Viviana and more. Belong to Me is the sequel. I recommend both. Relational category. Life. Written well.