Faith. Hope. Love. These three words sum up the film To Joey, With Love. I already knew that To Joey, With Love was going to be a tear jerker. In the words of my father, who watched the screening for the pre- DVD release- it was bound “to be rough.” By rough he meant, “Get a box of tissues stat!” We braced ourselves for the 2-hour film.

To Joey, With Love documents the lives of Joey Martin Feek and her husband Rory Feek. They were Country Music singers who met and fell in live right away. Joey knew Rory would be her husband from their first few encounters. They wrote music, traveled, gave concerts and enjoyed each other. Then, Joey got pregnant and both decided to take a year off to have their baby girl, Indiana- and have a much simpler life on their farm in Tennessee.

The beginning of the film leaves you with no emotion as you get acquainted with Joey, Rory, Indiana and their friends and family. Well, I take that back, if you watch the trailer beforehand there’s a pre-set sadness because you already know that Joey dies.

Joey really enjoyed her pregnancy despite fears of being a mother. She took care of herself and prepared her farmhouse home for her new baby. As Rory put it, Joey became excited about motherhood because, “she wanted what God wanted and had planned for her.” That’s the faith theme that runs through the film. In her bout with cervical and colon cancer, Joey kept her faith in God. A bit like Job, her faith was unwavering, and fueled her joy to keep hoping her health would improve.

Shortly after giving birth at home, Joey had to go to the hospital right away and have surgery. The hospital then discovers that her few hours old little girl, Indiana has a terminal condition. But despite this news, Joey- in the words of her husband- “trusted God and that He gave them the baby He wanted them to have.”

We see the farm pass through seasons, and Joey and Rory plant crops and raise chickens. We see them humbled before God and on their knees as man and wife, praying to God for healing as Joey is firstly diagnosed with cervical cancer. Joey has surgery and life moves on. Indiana grows and Joey is pronounced healthy.

We see the Feek’s, a typical American family living the lives God gave them- traveling again, celebrating birthdays, and enjoying friends. And then we see Joey faced with cancer again; but this time things don’t look well. With love for one another and faith, they fight the cancer, which gives them hope. Joey’s smiles are unwavering. We see her singing, “Lord, I need thee. Every hour I need thee” right before surgery.

Despite Indiana’s condition, her comical and vibrant personality keeps Joey laughing. While I wipe my eyes and my father feels the sting of sadness I realize that this film- Joey’s story- is such a story of hope during her cancer journey. And amidst the tear jerking, there is a sense of joy and love of life, as well as a sense of moving forward. Not once did Joey wallow but she prepared herself and those around her to move forward after her inevitable passing. We see her sad as the cancer continued to eat away at her body, but she didn’t complain. She found joy in the small things- cooking when she found strength to and planting, as well as being a wife and mother. Her faith in God strengthened as her body weakened. She continued planting seeds in her daughter’s life, even though she wouldn’t be around to see them grow

The film ends with Rory walking across a field on their farm with Indiana on his shoulders, as he walks from Joey’s grave back to their house he says, “though this isn’t the path we would have chosen, it’s one we’ve chosen to walk down…we believe God will give us a good story.”

In the credits, there is a song that Joey sings and the lyrics say, “

It leaves the viewer wondering, “in the time God is giving me, am I doing all that I could be doing?”

To Joey, With Love is a film about faith, hope, and love. It’s also a film about perspective: are you, am I, are we doing all that we can be doing in the time God is giving us?