This is what discipleship and love look like.
We recently ran into Bonnie Cordon, president of Southern Virginia University at the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center. Kodi and Koleson had never met her, and they enjoyed chatting with her and Derek, her wonderful husband.
The Cordons were excited to hear about Koleson’s upcoming mission to Bangkok, and each offered sweet, genuine encouragement.
We also talked about the beautiful Believe in Him stained glass exhibit currently featured at the Visitors’ Center. It’s a stunning, symbolic piece of art that honors the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ.
In tender, sometimes subtle ways, this amazing artwork illustrates Jesus at his finest. He’s shown leading, loving, and modeling the way.
Through it all, He quietly ministers one on one.
A few minutes later, when we should have been saying goodbye because they needed to race off to another meeting, President Cordon asked Koleson a powerful question.
“May I show you something?”
But instead of just pointing back toward the exhibit at something she’d discovered, she literally and spiritually took him by the arm.
She didn’t just point toward something important, she led him to the lesson.
She ministered to him, one on one.
Leadership means taking time with people. It means prioritizing people over appointments.
In this case, it means taking someone by the arm and leading them to a life lesson.
Years from now, I suspect Koleson won’t remember what President Cordon actually pointed out in the exhibit, but he’ll surely remember her taking the time — and his arm.
President Cordon wasn’t just sharing insights into a piece of art, she was living it.
