Article January 1, 2001 ISSUE

When David hid under the table

By Toni Albert,—USA

When David was three years old, he started going to Sunday School. David liked his teacher and he liked the other children in his class. But he didn't like the way Sunday School started—with all of the big kids and little kids singing and praying together. He felt shy, and he didn't know how to read. So when the other children sang a hymn and said a prayer, David hid under a table.

"Don't you want to join us?" his teacher, Ms. Willis, asked. She bent down to look under the table.

"I can't," answered David. "My raccoon is under here, and I don't want him to be alone." David's raccoon was a make-believe pet, but his teacher understood.

David went to Sunday School every week. And every week he stayed under the table while the other kids sang and prayed together.

"Don't you want to join us today?" Ms. Willis asked. "I can't come out," said David. "My raccoon needs me."

"Hey, what's up?" said a big boy from another class.

"Hey, come on out," said the little girl next to him.

David didn't. Week after week in Sunday School, David stayed under the table. But he peeked out from beneath the table. He watched the other children.

One day he told his raccoon: "I know how to say that prayer. It's the Lord's prayer. I could say that."

Another time he said to his raccoon: "I know the song they're singing. I know almost all the words. I could sing that."

David noticed that when the older children read some Bible verses together, the little kids weren't really reading. They were just moving their mouths in funny ways so it looked like they were reading. "I could do that," David thought.

But still, David stayed under the table.

One Sunday, Ms. Willis read a Bible story about a man named Nehemiah. Nehemiah loved the city of Jerusalem. He was very sad when he heard that the wall around Jerusalem was broken down. So Nehemiah traveled to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. Some people from other countries tried all kinds of things to keep Nehemiah from finishing his work. But Nehemiah wouldn't stop. Nehemiah knew that God was helping him rebuild the wall. He knew that nothing could keep him from doing what was right.

Suddenly David thought: "I'm like Nehemiah. Nothing can keep me from doing what's right!"

The next Sunday, David didn't hide under the table. He joined the other kids when it was time to sing and pray. He said the Lord's Prayer perfectly. He didn't know the hymn, and he couldn't read the words from the Bible, but he moved his mouth in a funny way like the other children in his class. It was fun. And it was really fun when all of the teachers and the big kids hugged him. One of the boys said, "Is your raccoon still under the table?"

David thought a minute. "I told him to come out today from under the table," he said. "Because nothing can keep him from doing what's right." Everyone laughed and hugged him AGAIN.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit