Written by Dynamis Ministries | September 19, 2024
In 1984 the National Book Award was given to a novel entitled Stones for Ibarra. It’s a story about a couple who leave their comfortable urban lifestyle to move to a rural village in Mexico, and the ensuing triumphs and challenges they experience in adjusting to a new culture and way of life. The book has been praised for its artful and poetic writing style, its portrayal of the range of human emotion and its deeper thematic ideas. However, what makes this book truly remarkable is not the story itself, but the story behind its author.
Harriet Doerr was born in 1910 and grew up in Pasadena, California. As a child she excelled in school and academic pursuits and was able earn acceptance to Stanford University to attend college. However, following her junior year of college she got married and dropped out so she could help raise a family and assist her husband in restoring a copper mine that his family once operated. She abandoned all her academic pursuits until one day her adult son suggested she finally finish her college education that she put off for so long while she was caring for her family and family business. Doerr followed her son’s encouragement and finally at the age of 67 graduated from Stanford University, nearly 50 years after she first enrolled! Not only that, but while completing her undergraduate education Doerr began writing and eventually went on to publish her first novel at the age of 73. The title of the book? Stones of Ibarra.
There’re a couple valuable lessons we can glean from looking at Harriet Doerr’s life story which can provide encouragement to many areas of our own lives. First of all, we’re never too old to finish something we started. It took Doerr almost 50 years to receive her college diploma, but her advanced years didn’t hinder her in following through on this goal she set out to accomplish when she was younger. Second, we’re never too old to start something new. Doerr published her first book at an age when all her peers were retired, when others thought she was too old to launch into a new career, yet she still found a way to cultivate a passion in her life and used it to bless countless others.
These valuable truths are something that we need to be reminded of at different times in our own life journey, and they can help us as we live out our greatest potential, or dynamis, too. For many of us, fear and regret hinder our ability to reach our potential. We regret lost opportunities, missed callings or poor decisions. Or, we become complacent in a lifestyle or vocation and grow afraid to pivot away to pursue a passion for something else that excites us and tugs at our hearts.
Perhaps you find yourself at one of these crossroads today. Maybe you had a goal when you were younger in your career or had just started a family but were never able to achieve it. Or maybe you have been wanting to try something new but are afraid that you lack experience or you missed your opportunity. If that’s you, be encouraged today that it’s not too late. God can use us at any life season we may find ourselves in, and maybe this next season will be the one of greatest potential (dynamis) in your own life!
