My sweet Granny Jewel is not doing very well. She went into the hospital earlier this week following a fall at her home. Since entering the hospital it appears that things have taken a turn for the worse and her body seems to gradually be shutting down. My family is arranging for hospice services to come to her home as soon as she is allowed to leave the hospital. In light of this, I have decided to fly home this weekend so I can spend some time with her.

As many of you know, Granny Jewel has been a constant ray of light in my life.

Granny Jewel was born on a farm in Crossville, TN in 1929, she was one of 13 children. As a little girl she worked with her siblings on the land, tilling fields, feeding chickens and milking cows. Because her help was needed at home, Granny's formal schooling was limited, and she never passed the sixth grade.

She wore hand me down clothes, and would walk barefoot to church with dress shoes in hand - her only pair for the year. Enduring the rocky road beneath her small feet, she would put the shoes on at the last moment so they would shine when she walked through the church door.

In her teens she found employment at a textile mill placing spools inside the machine with her tiny hands. It was at the mill she met her future husband. Ed Lowe spotted Jewel across the workroom and was struck instantly by her startling blue eyes and thick auburn locks. It was love at first site, and they eloped at 16.

Their first child, my uncle Gary, came two years later. He would be followed by five more (Tommy, Jimmy, Phyllis, Mike, and Linda). Linda was born with down-syndrome. She died at age two, which rocked Jewel to the core, but Jewel persevered. After all she still had four boys and another little girl that needed her.

Granny Jewel threw herself completely into commandeering the home. Her daughter Phyllis (my mother) clung to her heels. The bond between this mother and daughter pair was profound. Phyllis became Jewel’s best friend and solace. The little girl cooked, cleaned and sang with her mother, and Jewel spoiled her daughter with all the luxuries she had lacked growing up like pretty dresses, ruffled socks and patent leather. She taught the girl that true beauty came from within like laughter, and together mother and daughter laughed often.

At fifty my Pappy Ed suffered his first heart attack. For him this was a catalyst to focus on the things in life that really mattered, like his marriage to Jewel. The children had left the nest, and they were left to re-learn one another. Today they are best friends, and it is a beautiful thing to watch the big strong Pappy Ed dote so tenderly over her.

Jewel’s health has suffered too, but like my Pappy she often seemed invincible - fighting through whatever ailment life would throw at her. She has endured cancer, stage II diabetes, a heart attack, and more. Until now its seemed that not even old age could pull down the sturdy farm beauty.

Granny Jewel has taught me so much. How to laugh through your struggles and to smile through your pain. How to forgive those who wrong you and how to live and love fiercly. She has taught me how to give, as well as how to be strong, fighting, and still full of love. I know I could go on and on, naming the things I have learned from her and the way she has shaped my life. I love her so much more than words could ever adequately express.

Please be praying for her as she endures this chapter in her rich life. Pray also for my family, especially my sweet Pappy Ed, as he must sit by and watch his beautiful bride go through something we will all go through one day.

In many ways, I dont want to acknowledge that this is real, that things are coming to an end. She has made it through so much before, and I cannot imagine her not being here, not persevering. Because that is who she is, thats what she has always done. So I ask all of you to pray for me to, as I struggle to comprehend and understand life's realities. Your prayers and your love are so greatly appreciated.