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Harper, Mrs. R.H.

2/25/1954

MRS. R.H. HARPER c.1880 - February 25, 1954
LUKE 19: 12 “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom and to return”. When word came that Mrs. Harper had gone, these words flashed into my mind; and with them the realization that she was now freed from all earthly confinements and able to enjoy the entrancing vistas that have now assuredly opened out before her. Our friend was one of those staunch soldiers of Jesus that the world can ill afford to lose at this stage of the battle. She both knew and loved her Lord, and had a remarkable perception of things spiritual. It has been my privilege to know her these last ten years, and we had a rich companionship in the Word of God. She was a student of the Bible; she and I saw eye to eye on many things in the Word of God; and she has been a blessing to me in my ministry. If Heaven is the ability to enter more fully than was possible here into the delights of the spiritual life and into closer communion with God, then we know that today hers is a rich experience. The limitations of the flesh have gone forever. The uplifted spirit no longer chafes against the confines of this world like an imprisoned bird flutters against the bars of its cage. Her spirit today revels in spiritual fullness. What more can we say of that but with the Psalmist: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness” or with Richard Baxter, who said: “My knowledge of that life is small. The eye of faith is dim But ‘tis enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with Him”. As we think of the years of service along-side her husband. in good years and bad, in joy and sorrow, victory and defeat, steadily sowing the seed of life everlasting; what a glorious record. What a kingdom she will receive and best of all, as she firmly believed: “She will return with her Lord”. It is well believed in that with the life beyond, men will enjoy it according as they have developed or failed to develop their capacity for God and things spiritual. Then what a joy to know that Mrs. Harper can so fully and completely enter into the joys of her Lord, for she has developed the capacity for it. And we have the promise of Jesus: “Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God 0 Paradise, 0 Paradise, Who would not crave for rest: Who would not seek that happy land, where they that love are blest, where loyal hearts and true, stand ever in the light; All rapture thru and thru, in God’s most holy sight. Mrs. Harper was a daughter of Mr. Henry Skipworth and his wife, who was June Dick DuBose, a relative of Bishop DuBose. She was married in 1905 to Rev. R. H. Harper of the Louisiana Annual Conference, and died in New Orleans, February 25, 1954 Interment was In the family plot in Magnolia Cemetery in Baton Rouge. She is survived by her husband, her son Robert E. Harper of Washington, D. C., a grandson Robby Harper, and two sisters. Mrs. Ann Biossat of Lafayette, and Mrs. C. C. Herndon of Shreveport.
Source: Journal of the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Church, Pages 171-172, 1954 by N. H. Melbert.

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