"Ua ou malosi"

At about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, I called my sister to find out where she was. She said she was at the hospital. My heart skipped a little. Then she told me that our mom was being admitted. By heart skipped even more. My mom has had a lot of medical issues and she had a very serious situation about five years ago. There were moments back then when we thought we had lost her. But she made a full recovery.

But now, we seem to be having a repeat of that previous situation. She had problems with her asthma. There was some fluid in her lungs. And there wasn't enough oxygen in her blood. "Not again", I thought. Of all the people in the world who didn't deserve to go through another bout of illness, it would be my mom. She's an angel. Everybody loves her. She makes people laugh, she makes people smile. I texted people in my church about her situation and they blew up my phone asking for updates. That's how much people love her.

But there she was with the machines all hooked up to her and the nurses, once again, fishing around to find a vein to draw blood. I swear, every time she goes to the hospital, it takes at least ten times for them to find a vein. Helpless doesn't describe the feeling I felt. When she saw me, she smiled and asked for Rise, no surprise there. We talked about her health and situation. She said, "Ua ou malosi." She always says that. She's just trying to be strong for us. We talked about her needs and what she wanted. Satisfied that she was stable and my sister staying behind to spend the night with her, we stood up to leave. She held my hand and said..."fai fa'alelei le mea fo'i lea..." There was something she wanted our family to do this weekend. Mom, in ICU always thinking about other people besides herself.

The Bible tells us that God will never test us beyond our ability to cope. We've been tested before and came out stronger for it. I believe the same is true here. God has a purpose for us and for everything that happens in our lives. I believe that with all my heart. I blogged yesterday about time and how we have no control over it. How we shouldn't lose sleep over things we can't control. Well, here's the perfect situation of testing my words. There's very little I can do for my mom right now. She's in very capable hands at the hospital. The only thing I can do is pray that God gives her the strength to endure what His plans are for her. I ask that you also keep her and our family in your prayers as well as all families who are struggling with illness, and especially the loss of a loved one. May God's peace be upon us all.