Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, July 17, 2026
Thursday afternoon Shelley and I stopped in at a Fred Meyer store to shop for groceries. I’d just turned off my engine when a battered car rolled up in the space beside me. The guy who got out must have been in his early thirties, an intelligent-looking redhead with a crewcut. He gave me a quick, curious glance and strode into the store.
As I emerged from our car, I caught sight of something on his car’s dashboard. It was a thumb piano (also known as a kalimba or mbira). I actually have one myself, built by a relative of Shelley’s. Its flat metal “tines” are alternately arranged in a “staggered scale,” which allows the player to produce chords as well as individual notes.
Instantly, the sight of the thumb piano gave this car a personality it wouldn’t otherwise have had for me. Who was the redhead who drove this car? Did he carry this instrument around with him so he could play music whenever he wanted? And why does he leave it on the car’s dash, in the sunlight, which is probably the reason for the widening split running from the hole to the edge of the box?
The Bible tells several fascinating stories about David, whose rise from shepherd to king is a heartwarmingly complicated story. He seems to have carried his harp with him out to the pasture, and it may have been while trying to soothe his sheep to sleep with music that he wrote his most famous psalm. As you read the words, try to imagine the sound of David’s harp, as he honored His Creator in song:
Psalm 23 [NKJV]
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.