A few months ago, I wrote about nudges, the tiny thoughts that come to us. Nancy and I decided to go to that one last thrift shop. I happened to look at the shelf of books. I discovered several volumes of a commentary series I use. Including one I needed a couple days later. It was, I said, about nudges. (A little about nudges and timing. – 300 words a day)

There’s an update to the story.

What I didn’t tell you is that I recognized the name written on the flyleaf. Diane W. Howard. She’s one of the few but growing number of ordained women in the denomination I’m part of. Finding her name made me happy, but I wondered why her commentaries were in a thrift shop. I hadn’t heard that she retired.

Last week, I was at a conference, talking with a friend. As we were finishing our conversation, I thought, “Tell her about finding Diane’s commentaries.”

So I did.

“So that’s what happened to the rest of the books,” she said.

And I learned that Diane died in November, 2024. My friend told me about her last couple months, talking about their friendship. And told me about distributing some of her library and other resources to the women she encouraged and mentored.

“But we couldn’t take everything.”

So these commentaries, “she loved her commentaries”, went from Ohio to a thrift shop in Fort Wayne, to my library. And the story found its way back to some of the people Diane, and I, care about. We’re all encouraged and amazed. And I’m aware, again, of the importance of responding to those nudges. And of the significance of connections.