Vonette Bright
1926-2015
A dry, merciless, desert heat defined the day. A mysterious wind accentuated the intensity of the temperature. As I walked the pebble path, the weather and my nervousness walked with me.
My classes were over for the day, and I headed toward a small bungalow on the property of Arrowhead Springs. The appointed afternoon finally arrived for my visit with Vonette, the wife of Bill Bright.
Currently, at the headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ® (as Cru® was known then) in Southern California, I immersed myself in training to join this movement. Yet, too often my heart drifted across the country back to Mississippi; deeply in love, I sorely missed the one I loved. He worked as a summer youth director at a small church in a quiet Southern town, and our lives stood worlds apart.
As I walked, I wondered, “What would Mrs. Bright be like?” I had heard her speak, but that was at a distance when she stood behind a podium. What would it be like to be with her, one-on-one, in her home?
With embarrassment, I recall requesting a private appointment with a woman I had never met, an extremely busy woman with endless demands on her schedule. But I was driven by love. As the wife of a great spiritual leader, I wanted her answer for the largest question on my heart.
For this occasion, I carefully selected a short-sleeved cotton dress with a round Peter Pan-style collar. I can still picture the black, orange, white, and green tiny floral print. The wide, elastic waist made it comfortable. (Candidly speaking, that dress was too short—much too short. Blame it on the 1970s. Good thing this was California).
Upon reaching the top of the path, the red tile roof of their bungalow home came into view. I navigated my way downward, crossed the courtyard, and rang the doorbell. While I waited, a lizard scurried past. At least one detail felt familiar to Mississippi.
A smiling Mrs. Bright welcomed me and invited me to take a seat in her lovely living room. I moved toward an aqua velvet chair while she returned to her kitchen to retrieve two glasses of a cold beverage. In this moment alone, I admired the numerous gifts on display from around the world, and desperately attempted to quell my nervousness.
Momentarily, Mrs. Bright rejoined me in the matching pair of chairs; I could tell this meeting was important to my hostess. Concurrently, I sensed the need to get to the point, so I swallowed a gulp and launched.
““I came, Vonette, to ask you a question about a young man in my life. We love each other, and I need your input. So, my question is this: What can I do to best prepare myself for my relationship with him?” ”
“I came, Vonette, to ask you a question about a young man in my life. We love each other, and I need your input. So, my question is this: What can I do to best prepare myself for my relationship with him?”
Gripped with love, I possessed no better sense than to bring this dreamy question to this leading woman in the evangelical world, this question of my aching, longing, love-smitten heart.
Without blinking she asked, “Honey, are you engaged?,” as if engagement would make a difference in her answer.
Embarrassed, I sheepishly responded, “Noooo. No, we are not engaged.” Pause. “But there is a real possibility for a future together.” (I surely didn’t tell Larry of my answer to her!)
Sitting in her pale, pastel-colored living room, she answered, and there was nothing pale about her advice.
““Honey, you just get to know Jesus. That is the best thing you can do in your relationship with this young man.” ”
“Honey, you just get to know Jesus. That is the best thing you can do in your relationship with this young man.”
Looking back on that hot day at Arrowhead Springs in 1972, I am so glad Vonette knew—not what I wanted—but what I needed. Her Spirit-anointed answer seemed way too simple and far too short.
I secretly longed for romantic suggestions. I came to her hoping for a curriculum, a list of books to read, a guaranteed formula for becoming the woman I wanted to be. I anticipated far more than I received, at least that is what it seemed.
“Honey, you just get to know Jesus.”
Even now, I marvel at the lasting impact of her words, for what was true then is still 1,000% true today. The one best thing I can do for my relationship with Larry remains to get to know and keep getting to know Jesus.
Imagine: One hot afternoon. One young woman. One short sentence. One lifetime lesson. Thank you, Vonette. Your words have born lasting fruit. I commit to continue sharing your wisdom with other young naive women, who like me, yearn to live life to the fullest along- side dynamic leaders as we partner to help fulfill the Great Commission.
A contemporary model of Proverbs 31, Vonette, along with her husband, Bill Bright, cofounded Cru®. She authored or co-authored more than twenty books and numerous Bible studies and devotionals. The founder of The Great Commission Prayer Crusade, Vonette enjoyed being a mother and a grandmother.
I always appreciated her forthright ability to articulate her commitment to her leader-husband.
Once, when I asked her, “What does it mean to you, Vonette, to be the wife of a leader?,” she responded by saying, “Honey, come here. Let’s sit down.”
We pulled away from the center of the party and made our way to a couch in the corner where she began to talk. Her thoughts flowed as one who spoke from the voice of experience and the voice of conviction. I felt privileged to hear this woman’s answer.
““Get ready to share him with other people, lots of other people. You must be ready to do this.””
“Get ready to share him with other people, lots of other people. You must be ready to do this. This requires you to think and have a plan and be aware of his situation. You will find yourself getting jealous, but don’t be jealous. Be as involved as you possibly can in his world. Other women will be in his world. But you be the first to do what he needs done, if at all possible. Be actively involved with him.
““My first calling is to be the wife of Bill Bright. ”
“My first calling is to be the wife of Bill Bright. I would say no to anything that he did not want me to do. Go where he goes, be in his world. Pursue what he is involved in,” she said. “I chose to have no other field for myself. I would ask myself, what does he need? And then I would seek to meet that need.”
When asked, “What was your job description on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ?” she responded with conviction, “To be the wife of Bill Bright. I just looked for what needed to be done, and I tried to do it.”
Living with Eternal Intentionality®
“He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Who has God used as a mentor in your life?
What wisdom from that person still molds your life today?
Content lifted from the pages of The Leader’s Wife: Living With Eternal Intentionality®
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