Here’s Why Indy Has Not Asked For Joey Feek
It’s been several weeks since Joey Feek went home to be with the Lord. Though cancer weakened her body, her remarkable spirit never dwindled. The world stood in awe of Joey’s unshakable faith and strength as we all followed her journey through Rory’s beautifully penned blog posts on This Life I Live. In his most recent entry, Rory reveals that the couple’s two-year-old, Indy, hasn’t asked for her mother once since she’s been gone. And the reason why is yet another testament to the incredibly strong and wise woman Joey Feek was.
“Indy has not asked for her mama. Not one single time since Joey's been gone. It's almost as if she hasn't noticed that she's not here. And that is so sad... and oh, so wonderful – all at the same time.”
That’s what Rory wrote. It’s understandable. After all, Indy is only two years old. Still…as Rory describes in his post,
“Joey was Indy's whole world. Everyone else was...well, just everyone else. Including me. She loved her mama so much and all she wanted was to be with her, beside her or in-sight of her.”
So why does her absence seem to go by unnoticed by her biggest fan?
As Rory so beautifully points out, it’s best explained with a passage from John 3:30:
"He must become greater; I must become less."
RELATED: 5 examples of Rory’s devotion to Joey
While the Feek family never stopped praying for healing, Joey reached a point last year where she began to realize and accept that it may not be God’s will for her to be healed in this world. And with this realization came another…”he must become greater and I must become less."
No one would have blamed Joey had she spent every second she had left hugging, kissing and soaking in her precious little one. But Joey knew this would only reinforce Indy’s dependence on her mama, which would ultimately only deepen the pain of the time when Joey was no longer there to comfort Indy when she needed it most.
RELATED: Rory’s moving speech at Joey’s memorial service
And so, she sacrificed her own needs for what was best for her daughter, understanding that it was now Daddy’s time to become Indy’s focus.
It was a selfless act born of pure love, and yet another testament to Joey Feek’s bravery and strength. Rory describes it best:
“Who does that? Who has that kind of strength and character? Not me, that's for sure. I would've taken the low, easy road...the one that served me more. I would've tried to make the ties with our baby stronger and her love for me deeper so that she wouldn't forget me...and in the end, probably left our baby wrecked with grief over the loss of the one person she loved and needed most. But not Joey. She let Indy fall more in love with me...and less in love with her. She carried the pain on her own shoulders, to try to keep it off of mine. And even more so, off of Indy's.
Don't get me wrong, there were still lots of times in those last few months that I put Indy in her mama's lap and they spent time together, loving and enjoying each other. But it was never the same. Indiana loved her mama...but she wanted me. She needed me.
Thank you Joey.”
Rory and Indy go to visit Joey’s grave every day. But for now, Rory allows Indy to enjoy the blissful ignorance that comes with her young age. Because while she’s too young to understand the pain and loss now, one day she will. But she’ll also understand the incredible woman her mother was. Rory says,
“And tucked away in her little heart will be all of the beautiful memories of these first two years that she has shared with her mama and when the time is right, she will find them and they will make her smile. Yes she will remember. I believe that.”
This amazing family continues to be in our prayers. Be sure to read Rory’s incredibly moving post in its entirety at This Life I Live.
“For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:8
Hear the beautiful speech that Rory gave at Joey’s memorial service.