In his latest This Life I Live blog entry, Rory Feek touches upon his time as a single father raising daughters Heidi and Hopie, who are now 29 and 27 year old. After, Joey’s death on March 4th, the singer-songwriter has found himself as a single dad once again.
“Joey sat beside me on a glider on our back deck and cried and cried. But not because of the news that the cancer had spread and there was nothing more the doctors could do,” he recalled. “She cried because Indy was going to lose her mama, and I was going to be a single father again.”
“Joey knew how hard it had been for us for all those years before she came along and she was upset that she was going to leave me in the same situation,” Rory continued. “I remember her tears falling and her saying, ‘I don’t want you to have to raise a child again by yourself… it’s not fair.’ Though I was worried about the reality of what was probably in our future, I tried to smile as I wiped Joey’s tears and said, ‘it’s okay honey… now we know why God chose me to be with you.’ I realized then that God knew what was in store and all those years by myself with the girls was Him preparing me for the job of caring for Indiana.”
Understandably, both Rory and Joey were disappointed and upset over Joey’s terminal cancer diagnosis and what that meant for their three daughters. The couple turned to their strong faith to find peace and understanding.
“But we just did what we always did when we were confused and hurt and scared… we got on our knees, held hands and we prayed. Soon, our tears were replaced by hope and trust that God’s plan was perfect and that somehow, someway… everything would be okay. We never cried over that again. We just celebrated everyday that we were given together, and tried our best to prepare for the day when those days together would be no more.”
Joey was buried on the Feek family’s picturesque farm and she was remembered so dearly on Mother’s Day.
“Though my beautiful wife sleeps in a bed of clover behind our farmhouse, we still celebrate her on this special day and lift her up and give her flowers. This is not my day. It is hers. Joey loved being a mother more than anything else in the world. And she is still Indy’s mama. And Heidi’s and Hopie’s.”
Rory ended his blog post by thanking Joey for giving him their beautiful daughter, Indy, and remarking on how he very much feels her presence in sweet little moments with their child. God bless this family.
