Who is Sam from Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and what is their importance?

Sam is Anne's son. Sam is a bright child and Anne talks of his creativity. He can make something of "garbage" and one of his teachers remarkes on this gift. She and Sam are close in many ways and Sam has an array of friends. Anne says she makes Sam go to church, not because she is bigger than he and she can make him, but because she wants him to have that contact. She also notes he loves the people there and they love him. By the end of the final essay—Sam's eighth birthday—he is having some growing pains. Anne notes he can be a beautifully-behaved child but he can also be horrible. He says he does not believe in Jesus but believes in "all gods," though Anne says she thinks his only reason for that thought is to torture her.