Ever since Rory Feek and his daughter Indy went to his late wife Joey's hometown in Alexandria, Indiana, they have experienced warmth and hospitality like no other.
"The love keeps coming," Rory writes on his blog This Life I Live. When they held a service in Alexandria High School in honour of Joey, thousands of people gathered to remember the beautiful life the country singer lived.
"The whole day was so special. Thank you to everyone who was there and to everyone who wished they could be there with us. Like me, I know my wife would've found a way to see the beauty in this sad day," Rory says.
The love that the locals had for Joey was so immense that they treated Rory and Indy like a king and princess. "I never paid for a piece of pizza while we were there the past five months. Or an oil change. Or hardly even a meal at a restaurant," shares Rory. "I've been hugged by cashiers at Home Depot and had people cry in my arms in the produce aisle of the grocery store. I've had waitresses pray with me in restaurants and neighbors drop off home cooked meals day-and-night to the house we were staying in."
When someone read Rory's blog and saw a picture that showed a Nestle water bottle sitting by Joey's nightstand, an employee from that company dropped off two dozen cases of water in their garage the very next day. "And they kept bringing more cases. Right to the very end. People just want to help. They feel your hurt and want to share your pain. They made something hard, a little easier," says Rory.
The outpouring of love did not stop even as Rory and Indy headed home. People would still come up to the widower just to hug him and tell him that they are praying for his family.
Rory used to think that the Internet was a bad place where people hurt and destroy each other. But his perspective has changed. "I don't think that way anymore. I think the Internet is also a place where people can come together and share their hopes and their fears. A great big beautiful community of strangers ... struggling, hurting, celebrating and needing each other. A great big, small town," he says.
