Harp players

I always get a bit of a fuzzy feeling when the Psalms talk about praising God on the harp. I won't pretend I have always wanted to be a harpist - I haven't. I realized early on the level of patience would be far beyond my piano playing attempts and few guitar chords. But the harp has always fascinated me.

I suppose the first thing I noticed was that all the harpists I saw on TV were women (I am sure there were some men but they I never saw them!) and the second thing was that they seemed to play with their whole body - perhaps more than any other instrument which I observed  - the movement of the hands of the player would seem simply to be the final product of something emerging from much deeper with the musician. Perhaps for me, as a child, this process, which is common to so many creative arts, was just easier to observe with such a big instrument. But, nevertheless, that picture of the whole person being caught up in making music and the fingers plucking the strings being just the final part of a much greater whole, caught me up.

This seems like a great way to worship God - using all that we are - all that we are flowing towards the central point of contact, of music, of the earth and heaven touching in praise. The elegant harpist, dancing with her music, gives us an icon to consider both beauty and engagement.