my dear friend, anna lisa dayag, passed away this morning from her year long battle with cancer. naturally, we who are close to her all feel sad. i can't stop thinking about her and all the thinking and crying has made me so exhausted. i know she doesn't want us to be sad and i know she's in a better place....and i'm not just saying that. there is no doubt in my mind that she is in heaven right now, either walking through her mansion, eating at a banquet fit for royalty, or singing and dancing and worshiping the Lord.
what i love most and will never forget about ate anna is the tremedous amount of faith she had in the Lord and the joy she had despite her illness. she was diagnosed in june last year with stage 4 colon cancer. her doctors thought she only had a couple of months to live and they were all surprised by her will to live and fight the disease to the very end. during her chemotherapy sessions at the hospital, she would walk from room to room and encourage other cancer patients like her and tell them about the love of God. the other patients didn't believe her at first when she told them that her cancer was at its last stage and that the only thing that could cure her was a miracle from the Lord. how can this woman, whose cells are conspiring to terminate her life still have this joy and this optimism? ate anna believed that her purpose in life was to share the gospel of Christ to the cancer patients at Seton Hospital and she did so with every strength she had.
i'm sure there where moments when she asked the Lord why it had to happen to her. but i also know that through her entire ordeal, she never doubted that Christ was by her side, holding her hand through every painful prick, through every excruciating day.
ate anna loved to laugh, and she loved to eat. napakabait ni ate anna. there is nothing negative i can say about her. she was very patient, very kind. she always had a smile on her lips and a sparkle in her eyes.
we also shared our birthdays. so when the month of may rolls around, maguusap na kami kung ano ang ihahanda namin sa birthday namin. kainan nanaman!!!!
oh how i miss you ate anna! i miss cooking for you and i miss how you rave about my cooking at ang paborito mong luto ko. i miss your hugs and i miss hearing your voice! i miss everything about you!
thank you for showing us how to trust in the Lord by the way you lived your life. thank you for being part of my life. i wish you knew what an impact you've made and how you've made all of us better people.
like i told you ate, say a prayer for us as you enjoy eternity with the Lord. you're probably thinking, 'naku sister! nakapasaya ko dito! just keep the faith and in God's perfect time, makikita mo rin ang Glory ng Lord! there are no words to describe it! ibang level na talaga to! o sige, worship muna kami! ang saya talaga grabe!'
nalulungkot ako, pero napapangiti rin kasi alam ko na you are experiencing joy beyond words and the true peace that passes all understanding. we're going to take good care of pierre. malaki nanaman sya e...but we'll guide him to be the best person he can be and live his life in a way that will make you proud.
goodbye, ate anna! we love you!
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