Parachute Packing

I heard a story several years ago. It is a true story of Charles Plumb. Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal. Several years later he and his wife were dining, and another man came up and remembered that he was Charles Plumb, the one who flew jest fighters from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and was shot down. Plumb was astonished and asked the man how did know this information. He stated, “I packed your parachute! I guess it worked!” Plumb extended his gratitude to the sailor who packed his parachute. He then recalled that when they were both on the aircraft carrier, he was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor. Plumb thought about the countless hours of folding the silks of the chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he did not know.

When Plumb speaks of his ordeal, he asks the question “Who is packing your parachute?” He will give the details of his ordeal as well as his recollection of the sailor who packed his chute. Plumb will expound on the fact that everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day.

So, I will ask the question to you, “Who is packing your parachute today?” There are those people who pack my parachute each day. Not a physical parachute, but a mental parachute, an emotional parachute, and a spiritual parachute. It is my personal support system. The ones who pack my parachute, and I also pack their parachute. It is a wonderful exchange. There are times we can get discouraged by the happenings in our world. Look for the ones who do the parachute packing, and not to the ones who will cut your cord. Indeed, we trust the ones who pack our parachute. Extend your gratitude to them today.

Something to Think About,

Pastor Mel