Craig Glickman - Solomons song of love: let the Song of Songs inspire your own romantic story

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Solomons Song of Love 2004 by Dr. Craig Glickman

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Edited by Between the Lines

Interior design by John Mark Luke Designs

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Glickman, Craig, 1947

Solomons song of love : let a Song of Songs inspire your own romantic story / Craig Glickman ; foreword by Henry Cloud.

p. cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1-58229-376-7
eISBN 978-1-451-60524-2

1. LoveReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Bible. O.T. Song of SolomonCriticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.

BV4639.G57 2004

223.906dc22

2003056995

Its All Coming Back to Me Now by Jim Steinman. Copyright 1989 UniversalSongs of Polygram International, Inc., on behalf of Itself and Lost Boys Music (BMI). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

I Dreamed a Dream from the musical Les Misrables. Lyrics by Alain Boubil, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel. Alain Boubil Music Ltd. (ASCAP). Used by permission.

After All by David Foster, Jay Graydon, and Al Jarreau. 1984 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Garden Rake Music, Inc. (BMI), and Al Jarreau Music (BMI). All rights reserved. Used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S., Inc., Miami, FL 33014.

The Rose by Amanda McBroom. 1979 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) and Third Story Music, Inc. (BMI). All rights administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI). All rights reserved. Used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S., Inc., Miami, FL 33014.

The Wedding Song 1971 (Renewed) Public Domain Foundation, Inc. All rights administered by WB Music Corp. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S., Inc., Miami, FL 33014.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations within critical articles and reviews.

Some of the names used in the stories in this book are not the actual names; identifying details have been changed to protect anonymity. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Scripture quotations not otherwise marked are by the author. Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

I dedicate this book to my mother and father; with thanks to God for their love for each other, for my brothers, my sister, and me, and for their twelve grandchildren.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE:
When Love Breaks Through

CHAPTER TWO:
A Night to Remember

CHAPTER THREE:
The Birth of Love

CHAPTER FOUR:
Hearts with Wings

CHAPTER FIVE:
A Spring of Romance

CHAPTER SIX:
A Time to Marry

CHAPTER SEVEN:
The Pain of Loss

CHAPTER EIGHT:
A Dance of Joy

CHAPTER NINE:
Passion and Paradise

CHAPTER TEN:
Freedom and Delight

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Devotion and Fire

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Hope and Fulfillment

APPENDIX A:
The Song and Christian Faith

APPENDIX B:
The Song of Songs: A New Translation

APPENDIX C:
The Elegant Design of the Song

Foreword

BY D R. H ENRY C LOUD

When Sandy expressed her dilemma to me, I could not help but think how many times I had heard it over the years. There is just no passion in our relationship. Tom is a good man and a great father to our kids, so I feel sort of bad for even saying this. But I just dont feel anything. I appreciate him, but I dont feel anything. My heart hurt for her as I saw her longing for their relationship to be more.

Then I was reminded of the exact opposite problem that I had heard just as often, as Tiffany had expressed it: We had such a romantic, sexual connection. I had never felt that kind of attraction and energy. It was intoxicating. But after we really got into a real relationship, there were so many things missing. It seemed like our bodies were in sync, but the rest of us was not. Is there such a thing as romance without relationship? she asked. As strange as it seems, we really dont have much of what I would call a real relationship.

There they were, two of the most common problems I hear in clinical practice, in hosting a radio call-in program, and in speaking to groups across the country. On the one side, there is platonic love without passion; and on the other side, passion without deep relationship. A woman once called our radio show and actually said, The guys who are attractive are all shallow and the guys who are spiritual and deep are never attractive. There are two types of men out there and I cant find one who has it all.

Her assessment of the entire male population aside, chances are that single or married, male or female, you might have encountered the problem she described and that Sandy and Tiffany experienced. And it naturally poses questions. Is it possible for sexual and romantic love, friendship, respect and admiration, values and spiritual depth, and just plain enjoyment of another person to all exist in the same relationship? And if it is, how does a couple sustain such love over time? And even more basic, how do you create romance and passion in the first place? Many people can identify with these questions.

As a psychologist, I can attest that the individual dynamics behind those quandaries differ from person to person and from relationship to relationship. And although there are answers, they are sometimes neither simple nor easy. But at the same time, common to all the different answers is a need: the need for a vision of a love that has it all. We all need to see that kind of relationshipwhat it looks like, sounds like, feels like, and doesbefore we can actually create it. And today, with so many people feeling like their own parents did not provide that kind of vision and with a culture that often promotes lust without love, we especially need a clear picture of what that love is like.

Solomons Song of Love