She loved these quiet afternoons. Gladys and Daniel napped, everyone else tended to duty, and she was free to do as she wished. First she read her Bible and prayed, then wrote journal entries or added news to an already long letter to Mother Adams, who had given her this little lap desk. Tapping the quill on the edge of its well to remove excess ink, she set pen to paper. Dear Lord, How lovely Your sky and ocean are today. How quickly You speed us along on our voyage. In these three months, we have come so far, and soon will reach the Straits of Magellan. In Your great mercy, please make it an easy passage, for many are turned back or lost in those turbulent waters. She sat back and regarded the page, chuckling at her words. Who was she to tell God about His own wide, wild ocean? And when had she begun to write her journal to her Heavenly Father? Perhaps as far back as her earthly father’s and mother’s deaths, when she no longer had anyone to whom she could pour out her heart. Yet she treasured her written prayers because often she would review old entries and realize how many of those prayers God had answered.
