Joey Feek continues to recover from her recent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor; her husband, Rory, has been sharing updates and stories from their journey on his blog and on the couple’s social media sites. Rory Feek recently shared the story of an “undercover angel”, a man named Willie.
Rory was out taking a walk with his daughter, Indy, early one morning at the park near the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Chicago.
“As we rounded the far side of the park, we passed a small wooden building on our left, and I heard a voice say “hello there”. I turned to the right and saw an older black man getting out a car that was parked on the street. He walked a little closer and stuck out his hand as he asked “are you from out of town?”, and I said “sorta… my wife is in the hospit…”, but before I could get the rest of his words out, he took my hand and said “I’m gonna pray for you”.
And right there on the sidewalk, this old man bowed his head and held my hands and prayed the sweetest, kindest prayer of healing for Joey and I. His beautiful prayer went on for about a minute or so, and I know I should have had my eyes closed, but I found myself staring at him as he prayed, wondering why he was here, and why I was here, and what kind of guy this was that would stop a stranger and pray for him without even knowing his story.
Then I noticed his eyes tearing up as he continued praying for “complete and total healing for this man’s wife and peace for him and his child”. When he finished and we both said “Amen”, I think I was still staring at him. He smiled as he looked up at me. I thanked him for the prayer and asked him his name. He pointed to the little concession stand building and said “I’m Willie, and this is my place”. Then he leaned in a little and said, “wanna know a secret?” and I said “sure”. Then Willie said, “it might look like I sell snowcones, but that’s just a cover… this is what I really do. I encourage people. That’s what God has me here for.”
I couldn’t help but smile back as I said “are you here getting ready to open?” He shook his head and said, “That’s the funny thing… I don’t open for a couple hours. God told me to get in my car and drive here early this morning, and now I know why. I’m here to pray for you and your wife”. Then, with big tears in his eyes, he put his arms around me and gave me a huge hug.
I thanked him again and as he walked away, he kept encouraging me that ‘God has this’ and ‘where two or more are gathered, He is there too’… and he even let out a big “wahoo!” He was so excited; he was almost dancing as he walked. Excited about getting to work early today, excited about getting the chance to pray with me, and even more excited about his ‘real’ job of loving unsuspecting customers.”
And proof that there is power in prayer, Joey was released from the hospital Friday following her surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on July 9th. She will be returning to her Tennessee farm for a week or two before returning to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Chicago where she’ll undergo five weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatment. After that stage of treatment is finished, Joey will start a more aggressive form of chemotherapy that will last for 18 more weeks.
Rory posted the update to the couple’s Facebook page along with this photo captioned “…almost home! Joey was released from the hospital yesterday, and will stay with us at a hotel nearby for a day or two before we all head home.”
Please join us in continuing to keep Joey and her family in your thoughts and prayers…
For more up to date information on Joey’s condition and recovery, visit Rory’s blog at http://thislifeilive.com
