The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1916-05-31
In Memory of
Mrs. PhilbriCk

Proverbs 3:17.
"Her ways are ways Of
pleasantnesS,
And all her paths are
peace"
The thought in this text is
characteristic of the spirit of
our departed friend. We are
living in materialistic age,
where people are restless and
impatient, always looking to ma
terial things to satisfy the crav-
irgs of the human soul. This
was not true of Mrs. Philbrick.
/ remember my first visit to
her, when conversation drjfted
to various things, but she had a
wonderful faculty of again
bringing back the struggling
thoughts and interpreting them
in the light of spiritual truth.
Pastors in this day and age
are social visitors rather than
spiritual advisors. Their time
is taken up with social hours
rather than religious reflection.
It was a tonic for me to have
found a person like Mrs. Phil
brick, who was delighted to me-
Gitate on and speak of spiritual
things: and l remember so we'll
her remark as l was leaving.
She said: This visit has been
a delight and a comfort to me
and I want you to call again."
The truth of the matter was
that she helped me more than l
helped her, and instead Of in
spring her, she inspired me to
deeper reflection. "And ali her
ways we're ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace"
The first part Of my text was
especially true of her spirit. I
remember a remark of a little
girl aged four years upon hear
ing Mrs. Phi..tr;ck mentioned.
said, isn't she a nice lady"
The child's word for nice was
exactly the word we have in our
text for pleasantness. She meant
isn't Mrs. Philbrick pleasant
lady" You may deceive very
wise people. Their judgment
often goes amiss but you can
Eever deceive a child. By in
tuition they know whether you
love them or not.
The other dav | perused Mrs.
Philbrick's Bible and went
through it for the purpose of
| seeing what the nature of her
| thinking was. 1t interested me
very much to find certain words
marked which reflected hel type
Of thinking and temperament.
] found words like these, Kind"
'True," peace" and especially
Glove" 1t was interesting to
me to see the wonderful word
"Grace" which means so much
in the original. It means, Gun
mcrited favor of Cod" We are
unworthy but Christ is worthy
we are faithless but Christ is
faithful and only through his
merit shall we enter into the
Eternal City. That is what this
word means, ''unmerited favor y
| Other phrases which interest
ed me were phrases like these,
l"Good cheer" Honest heart -
Hope Divine" love Divine y
mo cloud or gloom" 'Bathed
in his healing light" and ''The
lpath of kindly deeds" You can
see from this the temperament
and type Of her mind and life.
Her ways are ways of pleas
antness, and all her paths are
Ireace." How often when we go
along the street would bur-
| Gered business man or heavy
hearted mother be cheered if we
lwere only pleasant and kind and
friendly IN our greeting.
| The last part of my tex. is
also appropriate. "And all her
paths are peace" It was true
of her heart that she had, ina
lice toward none" She was so
peaceful and pleasant that she
seldom spoke much above a
whisper. It is an interesting
fact to note that her favorite
chapter in the Bible was the
ITwenty-third Psalm. One verse
Of it she did not think of as fav-
orably as the rest. It was the
Fifth verse. ''Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence
Of mine enemy" Emnity was
so far from her heart that she
felt this verse was not in har-
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