RESONANCE AND DISSONANCE – WHAT’S YOUR LIFE LIKE?
What do you think about resonance and dissonance? Do you find that your life is a mixture of the two? We like it when something or someone resonates with us, but when dissonance comes, we may feel out of sorts. Perhaps we wonder if things will ever harmonize again when one thing after another hits us.
I wonder, though, if both resonance and dissonance are needed in our lives. Maybe they actually work together to bring us into a deeper relationship with God and others.
Face the Dissonance
Sometimes dissonance may drive us away from all that we have been fighting for or against. Or maybe we are glad for it, because it gives us an excuse to say goodbye to those who oppose us. We start to run in the opposite direction trying to do everything on our own, but we soon find that to be a lonely road.
Other times when dissonance comes we try to hide, wanting to keep things static, unchanging. The problem is, though, that things do change and we cannot keep hiding.
Sooner or later we will be found. Then we have to face what comes. We can cringe and feel sorry for ourselves or we can meet it head-on looking for ways to get through it. It helps to know that God will be with us each step of the way.
There are times when I have had hard conversations. I can’t share details here because of privacy issues, but God gave me courage and wisdom to stay and listen. It was hard and there were tears, but God’s love was also there. The relationship is deeper and sweeter because we persevered instead of giving up and turning away.
Resonance: Do We Always Welcome it?
I mentioned earlier that we all like resonance, but I’m not sure that is always true.
Sometimes when things resonate deeply we don’t know how to respond. We can actually be afraid of something touching us in our inmost being, afraid of what we might be asked to do. Even when we know it is right, there is a kind of fear that goes with it.
Just as we sometimes want to run and hide when dissonance comes, we might feel the same way about resonance. There have been times when I’ve been close to having a deeper relationship with someone, but for some reason one or both of us held back.
Sometimes, I see God working and I’m almost afraid of going deeper. But I am now learning to welcome the chance to deepen a relationship.
Do you ever have similar feelings?
Resonance and Dissonance
It seems that both resonance and dissonance can cause fear sometimes in our lives. Both can also show us our need for someone to walk with us, to give us strength to face what lies ahead.
What if we were able to meet with courage our fears, both in dissonance and in resonance in our lives?
I believe we can. If we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have unlimited access to God. He is ready and waiting to give us grace and wisdom to handle anything that comes our way – good and bad. He works in and through us, as we give our lives as willing vessels to bring glory to Him.
By God’s grace we can move ahead with courage through all our fears, when we experience resonance or dissonance or both at the same time.
Jeremiah 33:2-3 (NKJV)
“Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name): ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
What about you? Do you ever think about resonance and dissonance and how you respond to those areas in your life? Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. May God give us courage to share and to look to Him for wisdom and strength.
**Some of this was presented in a post at my old blog but has been updated and revised.**
I’m linking up with: #LMMLinkup, #TeaAndWord
Dear Gayl,
Oh you have given so many good thoughts to be pondered here tonight. I know that I feel some of those same things that you have mentioned. When I feel that dissonance, I can so easily count it as an excuse to look away, and not face the hard issues. But God is so good to keep bringing it back up, because He does want to take me deeper in order to find His wholeness. What a precious Lord, so full of truth, that we serve! I love the photo of the tree in your backyard, with the new growth of baby pinecones, next to the mature pinecones. As I looked at it, it felt like a symbol of our heart–there are areas that we have matured and grown in Him, right next to areas that are still so new and small that need much growth to occur before maturity comes. Just as He uses resonance and dissonance in our lives to draw us deeper and to bring His growth in us, He is so merciful in all of our growing! Thank you so much for sharing this tonight. Blessings, love, and hugs to you Dear Sister! xoxo
Dear Bettie,
Thank you so much for your comments. You are right, God does want to take us deeper into a relationship with Him. I love the analogy you got from the photo of the new and mature growth together. I’m glad this encouraged you, sweet sister. Blessings love and hugs to you, dear sister/poet/friend! xoxo
Okay, you’ve got me going to the dictionary!!!
It’s always good to keep learning, right Susan! 🙂 Blessings to you!
I think it’s true that we need both resonance and dissonance. Your post made me think about music and how we need both to create harmony and for the music to sound good. It clashes for a time but then it resolves. Without it the music would be boring. I think it’s true with life too – there are times when we need to be challenged by others who have different experiences and opinions.
Oh, yes, you are right about music. Without both it would be kind of boring. So that’s a good analogy with life. We might not like the challenges, but they help us to grow. Blessings to you!