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One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a
man at
another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet
fighters in
Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot
down!"
"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.
"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in
surprise and
gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"
Plumb assured him, "It sure did -- if your chute hadn't worked, I
wouldn't
be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb
says, "I
kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform
-- a Dixie
cup hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wondered
how many
times I might have passed him on the Kitty Hawk. I wondered
how many times
I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you,'
or
anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just
a sailor."
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden
table
in the bowels of the ship carefully weaving the shrouds and folding
the silks
of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone
he didn't
know.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?
Everyone has
someone who provides what they need to make it through the day."
Plumb also
points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane
was shot
down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his
mental
parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute.
He called
on all these supports before reaching safety. His experience
reminds us all
to prepare ourselves to weather whatever storms lie ahead.
SUGGESTION: Recognize and be gracious to people who pack your
daily parachutes,
and strengthen yourself to prevail through tough times.