In order to achieve the harmonious sound of a concerted love ballad, we must take time to understand the diversity of instrumentation. Simply said, men are far different from women, and we need to understand those differences. She is a harp to be gently stroked, and she responds to the skillful hands of a careful minstrel. He is a bugle, brassy and shiny, producing a strong sound of alarm. The music that comes from one is far different from the music that comes from the other. They must be orchestrated. We want to maintain our uniqueness but blend together as a team for lifelong bliss and love.
-- T. D. Jakes

Ah the music of a loving relationship. The melody of two loving one another can be the sweetest song ever made or heard. It surpasses the clear, chipper tune of Springtime cardinal. It outshines the sweet, romantic melodies of Mendelssohn’s sonatas and Chopin’s Nocturnes. The sound of love between two is more beautiful than an angel’s breathe whispering sweet arias in your ear.

It’s beautiful, that is, if you remember that the body of work each person brings to the relationship is tonally different and in need of careful, sensitive, and patient tuning that can create harmony worthy of masterpiece status.

Each of us carries the tunes of past experiences, dreams and fantasies, and deep-rooted expectations around in our heads like earworms – songs in our heads that get stuck and just won’t go away. Add those to the differences in our “Venus and Mars” gendered perspectives and behaviors and a melodious relationship, rich with familiar, comforting riffs and uncomplicated, peaceful chords, is sometimes tough to negotiate. Sometimes the body of work partners bring and try to mince into concert is so flat or out of key that nothing is heard but noise and only the skill of an expert conductor can make any sense of the sounds and feelings. Sometimes the best that can be accomplished is a short jingle that is as easily forgotten as your least favorite song.

But turning differences into harmonic notes that produce a delicate and exquisite cantata that lifts both partners, the love they share, and the God who made it all possible, is the greatest symphony ever written. Once middle C is found, the key and time signatures are agreed upon, the tempo is set, and the rests are in place, the philharmonic song of a magnificent relationship can be performed for the world. And what a lovely song that is!
Sadiqqa © 2008