October 18, 2024
BLOOMINGDALE, Ga. – A beautiful and athletic DeLynn Blake was playing wall tennis when she caught the eye of a handsome young man named Steven.
She was 16. He was 17.
Steven Blake walked over to introduce himself, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“I was in love from the beginning,” DeLynn said, lying in a reclining chair in the living room of their home in Bloomingdale, a small town on the outskirts of Savannah. “He’s my world.”
They dated five years before the time came for Steven to pop the question he had rehearsed so carefully. They were sitting on the front porch swing at her parents’ home. It was a romantic setting for a proposal. But before he got the first word out, she said “yes.”
“I was so excited,” she said. “I just couldn’t wait.”
DeLynn radiated elegance as she walked up the aisle at East End Baptist Church in a floor-length white gown. He waited at the altar in a white tuxedo with a matching white bowtie. Their brilliant smiles reflected the happiness of the day. They recited traditional vows and meant every single word, including the “for better or for worse” part.
The two began an adventure together that they enjoyed to the fullest. He was a pastor who later joined Lifeway Christian Resources, working in bookstores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. She was an educator, standing in front of a classroom teaching children the three R’s. Their careers kept them busy, but life got far busier still when they adopted three energetic daughters.
As far as Steven and DeLynn were concerned, life couldn’t have been better. Together, they faced every difficulty life threw at them. They celebrated every blessing. And they thanked the Lord daily for all He had done for them.
Then, 10 years ago, Steven had gone out of town to visit their granddaughter in the hospital. It was May 16, 2012. He called home early that morning just to check in and to tell DeLynn he loves her. But she didn’t answer. He called her school to see if she may have gone to work early. She wasn’t there, either. He was worried. He asked his father to go by their house to check on her. The car was in the driveway, but she wasn’t home.
In time, Steven was able to piece together the events of the day. DeLynn had taken the family dog for a walk when she collapsed. A man delivering newspapers found her lying in a ditch. He called first responders who rushed her to the hospital. Doctors determined that she had had a severe stroke. She was clinging to life, but things didn’t look good.
With tears, Steven recalled the prognosis. Doctors predicted that if DeLynn pulled through, she’d have severe disabilities. Hers was a basilar artery stroke that affected the base of her brain. Doctors determined that a blockage had caused it. More than 85 percent of people who have such strokes don’t survive. Because the stroke damages the brainstem and cerebellum, most people who do survive are bedridden the rest of their lives.
“She was 50 years old,” Steven said. “I wasn’t ready to let her go. All I could do was pray and trust God, hoping he would let her live.”
Steven had a warning for other family members who would visit her while she lay in a coma day after day: “Don’t tell her things like, ‘it’s OK to go home,’ because I’m not ready to give her up.”
After 10 days, DeLynn awoke. She couldn’t move and was unable to speak. She would spend a month in the hospital. After weeks of silence, she was finally able to utter her first word. It was only a faint whisper. But it was clear enough. Her first word was a name. Jesus.
A decade later, DeLynn can walk short distances with exaggerated steps. She speaks in short, labored sentences. But she hasn’t regained fine motor skills. So, Steven starts every day the same way. He gets his wife out of bed. He bathes her. He dresses her. He brushes her hair. He brushes her teeth. He attends to her every need.
Steven is now pastor at First Baptist Church in Bloomingdale. DeLynn, of course, is the first lady, enjoying every moment of every sermon, knowing that when Steven speaks of love and grace and mercy, it isn’t mere words. He lives them every day.
“I am so blessed to have Steve as my husband,” DeLynn said. “He may as well be made of gold.”
Then, DeLynn looked across the living room at Steven, and, with a hint of sadness, said, “You have to take care of me.”
Steven offered a loving contradiction, telling her, “I get to take care of you.”
A nursing home has never been a consideration, Steven said.
“I will always take care of her,” he said. “I know she would do the same for me if it were the reverse.”
