The Psalms of Peace Amongst Painful Pieces
Mary Lynne Stevens Webb (ABOVE LEFT in December of 2024) has led a life of faithfulness to Christ, even when the hard times came. And the hardest times were the last thirteen years of her husband Pastor Bryan Webb’s life.
The couple along with their son Caleb, was living in Fairview Heights, Illinois where Bryan was Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Fairview Heights. The Webb family was faced with a crisis when, on October 23, 2010, Bryan was involved in a severe car crash, hit by a drunk driver. Thus began thirteen years of pain and sickness.
Click on the below link to view the website of First Baptist Church of Fairview Heights.
Listen to my words Lord, consider my lament; Hear my cry for help my King and my God, for to you I pray
Psalms 5:1-2
“His health histories were very complicated. He had a gash from the back of his skull across the top of his head down through his nose and his lips and his chin. He had over 300 stitches and then he also had broken ribs and separated sternum. During his surgery they also found that he had a large tumor on his kidney. The first order of business was the kidney cancer. He had that kidney removed and then after that he had several surgeries for reconstruction of the damage that was done to his face, to his scalp because they closed it in because there was this bald spot where the injury has been. He had several plastic surgeries.”
The injuries of the crash were too much for Bryan to handle: he was not able to preach full time, and the pain was unbearable. In November of 2011, the couple decided to go back to their home state of Arkansas and settled in Bald-Knob where the couple had a cabin that they had built years before.
More importantly, there was a church, Rocky Point Baptist Church, within one mile from the cabin and they were looking for a part time minister which was perfect for Bryan. Mary Lynn went back to work as a full-time speech pathologist and became the breadwinner of the family, in addition to becoming Bryan’s caregiver.
Click on the below link to view the Facebook page of Rocky Point Baptist Church
Click on the below link to view Pastor Bryan Webb deliver a sermon at the pulpit of Rocky Point Baptist Church.
But God will never forget the needy; The hope of the afflicted will
never perish.
Psalms 9:18
Along with Bryan’s pain, Mary Lynn went through her own discouragement and exhaustion of being his caregiver. And once again God saw her through this by her reading the book of Psalms.
“When I was in my 20s (BOTTOM LEFT), I went to this woman’s conference in Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis and the lady said that she read five chapters of Psalms every day. Let’s just suppose it’s the 5th and so today I would read the 5th the 35th the 65th the 95th and the 125th Psalms. I found that I have done that ever since then. When I have a struggle, it is in the psalms that I turn to. Every emotion that I can ever experience the psalmist has experienced. I present my heartaches to God and then realize that it’s only Him that I can depend on and then I can come to a place of peace.”
The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.
Psalms 23:1-3
The one constant in her life, outside of her parents, was God, which her parents instilled in her since she was in her mother’s womb. Mary Lynn was reared in Judsonia, Arkansas, the only child to a grocery store owner/ then town postman and mother who was professional administrative assistant. Her fondest memories were all the times her dad read Bible stories to her since she was just a baby.
(BELOW MIDDLE: Mary Lynne and her Dad)
“My parents were very strict and had high expectations. They’ve provided a lot for me. They also taught me the value of hard work and (to be) appreciative for the things you have. I definitely know that I was treated well.”
We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next
generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power,
and the wonders he has done.
Psalms 78:4
The most important decision she ever made was to accept Jesus as Personal Lord and Savior, which she did at the age of 8.
“I remember being in the bathtub and telling my mother that I needed to be saved and I wanted to be baptized. Then I remember being at the pastor’s house. I remember such specific things like they had white furniture with plastic over it. The pastor asked me why I wanted to be baptized and I told him that I was a sinner, and I wanted Jesus to come into my heart and forgive me and save me and then the next thing I remember is being baptized. I remember the dress that I was wearing when I walked down the aisle and told the church that I had been saved and wanted to be baptized. It was a navy blue and had a little sailor collar with white trim around it.”
The day she was baptized was a miracle because Mary Lynn’s fear of water disappeared.
“The thing is I was terrified of the water, but I wasn’t afraid of being baptized. After I was baptized then I wasn’t afraid of the water anymore. I learned how to swim; that was kind of the interesting part.”
At the age 0f nine she attended a children’s camp at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas where God called her into the ministry. She wasn’t sure what specific kind of ministry God wanted her to be in, but she waited on the Lord to reveal His plan to her.
In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; In the morning I lay
my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Psalm 4:3
Her first act of mission work was when she was 9th grade and learned sign language so the deaf individuals in the congregation could understand the sermons. In addition, she taught children’s choir, Bible school for children, and would always step up to the plate when she felt there was a need at the church.
BELOW: Mary Lynne working on the high school yearbook, and RIGHT Mary Lynne Top Row, 4th from left)
Her life changed in the summer between 11th and 12th grade when she met Bryan at a 4th of July picnic through a friend she met while she was on a mission’s trip. The couple dated and married on January 17, 1975 when Mary Lynne was 18 and Bryan 19.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever
praising you.
Psalms 84:4
“He was not saved at that time and so I kind of lost my focus for a little while.”
Meanwhile. Bryan worked at a grocery store then for an auto parts distributor, while Mary Lynn went to college: she earned her bachelors in speech therapy. She would later receive her master’s in communicative disorders in speech pathology, and an educational specialist degree in special education administration.
Three months after they were married Bryan got saved. A few years later they began together to seek God’s purpose for them. Mary Lynne knew what God wanted for her to do in the mission field – to be a pastor’s wife, but Bryan had not recognized that call yet.
“I knew I could not be the one that called Bryan. God had to be the one to do it. It was so hard to keep my mouth shut. Then one day he came home, and said, “God has called me to preach.”
The couple went to their paster for approval and advice, and immediately Bryan attended Ouachita Baptist University, where he earned a B.A. in pastoral ministries; Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee where he earned his Master’s of Divinity; and he attended Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri where he received his Doctorate of Ministry. Bryan pastored several different churches in Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. In 2006, God led Bryan to become senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Fairview Heights in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
(BELOW: Pastor Bryan with three members of his congregation at First Baptist Church of Fairview Heights. July 5, 2009)
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.
Psalms 96: 1-2
By this time the couple had five children: Ali, now 48; Steven, 44; David, 40; Sarah, 38; and Caleb, 26. They enjoyed their time at Fairview Heights Baptist Church and felt that was where God wanted them to be. (BELOW: The Webb Family at son David’s wedding. June 2017)
And then, on October 23, 2010, the accident happened, and after the move to Arkansas, Mary Lynn, with the help of family and friends, took care of Bryan while she worked full time as a speech pathologist. Finally, after thirteen years, Bryan’s injuries, which now included diabetes, were fatal, and, after a family discussion with his team of physicians, he was placed in hospice.
(BELOW Pastor Bryan in June of 2022 and at First Baptist Church of Judsonia delivering his last sermon. September 2022. This was during the time he was taking radiation treatments for lung cancer.)
Hear my prayer, Lord let my cry for help come to you
Psalms 102:1
“He was very heavily medicated because the pain was so bad. He mostly slept. I read Psalm 119 to him, which is a very long and then I had finished reading it. It was just like immediately the pain went away and he just looked so peaceful. Then he said quietly, “Lord, have mercy on me.” And then he passed. He was recognizing his unworthiness and just depending on God’s mercy. That is where our comfort comes- all that struggle that he had had ever since that accident was over and, I’m not saying we don’t miss him, but we are relieved for him that he is free of his suffering. When he died it was really a release (for me) because being the caretaker is so stressful.”
Click on the below link read Psalms 119
Click on the below link to view a video tribute of Victor Bryan Webb.
Mary Lynn considers her home, especially her back porch, a holy place for her to pray and read scripture. She is also close to her family and now has 10 grandchildren and her daughter now lives in the cabin. Mary Lynn misses Bryan daily and there are times that she thinks about him and how he would respond to certain things and what he would say. But the most important thing is what the Lord provides for her every single day.
“The Lord has given me comfort that I can’t even just describe. I just am very peaceful. I keep saying that it’s not that we don’t miss him because I don’t want to sound like I’m this terrible person but I’m happy and I have patience and contentment.”
I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy; because He turned His ear to me I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalms 116: 1-2
Click on the link to view Mary Lynne Stevens Webb’s Facebook page.
Click on the link below to view Mary Lynne Stevens Webb’s blog page.
Click on the link to view Mary Lynn Stevens Webb’s website
Click on the below link to view Mary Lynne Stevens Webb’s Instagram page
