Every year during my childhood, my family would travel from our home in Dallas, Texas, to visit our extended family in California. It was a long trip for a family with three young kids. By the time we got to our family’s home, we had been driving for more than 24 hours. But one particular year, we decided to meet up in the middle at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

            As we drove out of Texas, the scenery changed. The flat, rolling hills of north-central Texas turned into a rocky, barren wilderness. My brothers and I fell asleep while my parents drove through the night. When I awoke early the next morning, everything seemed to be covered in rust. As an adult, when I travel trough the desert of the southwest, I see a simple beauty in the stillness of the desert, but to a nine-year-old girl, it was very boring.

            After what seemed like forever, we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon. You couldn’t see much. Everything was very flat all the way to the horizon until we got closer. Suddenly, there it was. It was as if the earth had opened up to reveal the most amazing sight I had ever seen. I remember feeling very small. I reached over to take my dad’s hand, afraid that the earth might open up beneath me and suck me in.

            I imagine that David might have felt that way when Samuel stood up to anoint him. Maybe he hoped that the earth would suck him in so that he wouldn’t have to face this awesome task as such a young boy. He was just a shepherd. How could he be king? We often hear in sermons about David’s inner self, how God looked inside David and saw the purity of his heart rather than the young boy that everyone else saw. We should not judge others by appearances but by what is in their hearts, yet David was still a young boy. God took control of him that day, but he still needed support from Samuel and love from his family as he learned to understand what God’s plan for him entailed.

            As you prepare to teach this session, remember that the young children you teach have needs similar to David’s. Just as I needed my dad’s support as I stood at the rim of the Grand Canyon, the children need support from you as their teacher and love from their families as they learn to understand the guidance they receive from God.

Karen Penning is an editor of FaithSteps