and finally . . . seashells!

For the final spread in this small sketch journal, our visit to the gulf coast and Galveston Island isn’t complete unless I sketch some of the shells I picked up. I strolled along the beach and waded through the surf a bit before stopping to pick some up . . . and Bill still laughed, knowing I couldn’t resist them for long.

In this journal, I recorded planning an unexpected trip to Kansas followed by unsuccessfully trying to find an alternate flight when mine was canceled. I missed the funeral but later wrote this note to myself in the front of this journal.

I believe that a) I wasn’t meant to go to my stepmother’s funeral (I was only going for my dad who I do not have a close relationship with), and b) God wanted me to go through the frustrating day because He knows I learn best through experience.

I have forgiven my dad for the past and have done all I can to try to establish a relationship with him. I realize now that I was trying to get to the funeral to earn his approval — God tells me that I’ve done all I need to do; the rest is up to my dad. I already have God’s approval and that is enough.