When Tava got married & had her son Alama is when we emailed or instant messaged eachother often. Enjoying our long conversations, I found out she was struggling with a disease called Lupus. Lupus is different for everyone but basically it's an illness that attacks & shuts down your joints, but in Tavas case her lupus moves around to her joints, ovaries, lungs, brain, etc. There were times in the past she's been hospitalized, had surgery, gained weight, skin color changed, etc. through all these challenges she has remained extremely faithful & positive. She truly amazes me! Whenever I would go through hardships I would think of her words or the things she's endured & I become humbled really quick.
About a week and a half ago I seen some FB (Facebook) statuses from her sisters that Tava was ill. I immediately was worried & she was heavy on my mind. I kept thinking of her and decided to text her and ask if I could visit her. She replied maybe next week when I feel better. Tava unknowingly at the time she might not be here next week. Well a few days passed by & I kept getting this prompting to go see her. That very day I got on the computer & read Misionas status that her sister was in the hospital & she can't imagine life without her. I inboxed Misiona & she told me that Tava had almost passed away the other night! I was in tears, thinking why hadn't I acted on my prompting? I asked Misi if she thought it'd be a good idea to visit because her text said next week. She said I think any visitors would lift her spirits. So I planned to see her the next day with my bestie Ane. Misi asked if we could just surprise her & I thought that would be fun esp because Misi was going back to Phoenix that Saturday morning & we were planning on being there Sat around 10-11am.
So I picked up Ane & we made our way to Provo. We stopped by and got her some flowers & snax. Then we got to the hospital around 11. I opened her room door with the flowers in front if my face saying, Hi Tava! She grabbed her glasses put them on with a look of who is this, I moved the flowers as Ane & I came in and she sobbed, tears streamed down her face. We cried staring at one another and embraced our friend. She was so surprised & kept telling us that The Lord sent us in her time of need. We stayed til about 4pm. We laughed, cried, laughed til our tummies hurt & ate candy! It was such a fun & spiritual visit. I'm grateful for the friendship we have. I'm grateful for the promptings of the Spirit, I'm grateful for the gospel, for good doctors & nurses who take such great care of my beautiful friend. I'm grateful for my health & my spouse & kids. Nothing humbles a person more than to see someone else in a predicament you can't imagine. I love you Tava! The Lord is mindful of your hardships & has given it to you because you can endure this. Remember your hardship may not be for you, but for others to learn or maybe gain a testimony of your endurance, faith, & love. I'm so blessed to have you as my friend & I'm so blessed The Lord let you stay longer with us who still need you. Xoxo
Ofa Atu,
Anna
