Five Days: Five Unexpected Connections

Thursday: I was browsing university remote teaching jobs when I came across a listing for a professor at Abilene Christian University. It caught my eye because my husband and I were once members of the Church of Christ, and the school is in the town where my family is from. The only graduate I had ever known was my friend, the late Harold Staughn, who had attended Abilene Christian College before continuing his studies at Harvard. He was the one who performed our wedding ceremony.

Friday: A resume landed in my inbox for a chaplain educator position. The applicant had also attended Abilene Christian College before moving on to Yale. When I mentioned Harold, he remembered him but admitted they were not particularly close.

Saturday: I attended the funeral of an employee’s wife, held in a Church of Christ building. At the luncheon afterward, I found myself seated next to an engineer. Our conversation drifted to Pepperdine University, where his daughter was about to graduate before continuing her studies at Notre Dame. I remarked that it was quite a leap.

Monday: I was calling references for the job applicant. One of them was a professor at Notre Dame. We ended up having a delightful hour-long conversation, during which I learned that he, too, had graduated from Abilene Christian College before continuing on to Princeton. Not only that—he had known Harold very well.

Tuesday: An email arrived in my inbox. The professor overseeing the university program I’m currently enrolled in had accepted a new position. Where? Abilene Christian University.

Five days, five threads weaving together in ways I never could have planned.