Just Jerri: The view from the grandstand

This week a dear friend passed away. I was so shocked and saddened that I could hardly talk. The call came just as I was about to get on my Saturday morning prayer call.

Dianne Bentley, the 7/14 Bible Reading Coordinator in Iowa, leads our prayer call and during the course of our time together I shared with her, and the other ladies on the call, about my dear friend, Frank Hendrix, who had passed away the previous day.

As a believer who is very sensitive to the needs of others, Dianne knew I was grieving. She took time to share a wonderful dream she had just had this past week.

In the dream she saw a big grandstand, like at one of those major football games. Way high in the bleachers she saw a beautiful young lady with dark brown hair. She said, “Lord, who is that woman?” God told her the woman was her good friend, Brenda.

Then Dianne woke up. She laid there in bed for a while, musing about the dream, and especially the very, very young-looking woman that God said was her friend Brenda. She couldn’t figure it out until later that day when she discovered that Brenda, a woman in her mid-sixties, had passed away.

Needless to say, Dianne’s story greatly encouraged me and reminded me about the time when three of our children were members of the high school band. During those years we actively participated in the Band Booster Club, and one year Charlie even served as president.

What fun it was to be in the stands and root our team to victory while sitting next to the band. Every time a significant play was made, the band jumped up and played a short tune to encourage the team. When the team was lagging behind, the band had another number to lift their spirits. When a touchdown was scored the band played a song of victory!

Did you know that there is a grandstand in Heaven, filled with people who are cheering us on as we compete in the field of life? God compares our lives here on earth, not to a football game but to a race.

There, in Heaven’s grandstand, are the saints of all the ages who have gone on before us. I think the band in the stands must be made up of angels. What music they must be making as they and the saints in the stands, cheer us on.

On the field each runner has a specific course which he must run. As he presses on, he must be careful not to look to the right or left. It matters not what position the other runners are in; he must stay focused. 

The hurdles ahead must be carefully cleared. If one is knocked over, the runner must keep going. No time to look back at the fallen hurdle. The result of looking back could be disastrous. And as they run the crowd in the stands is wildly cheering. Come on. You can do it!

Christian friend, as we compete on the field of life, with cheering saints and angels in the stands, let us persevere. We do this not for worldly recognition or monetary gain, but for the honor of hearing our Lord’s words, as did Brenda and Frank, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Jerri Tuck is a regular columnist for the TJP. In each column, Jerri seeks to bring Biblical truths to light with the prayer that each article will bring “inspiration, information and illumination.” Her books are available on Amazon — in print and on Kindle.