"Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with
people of low position. Do not be
conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
Be careful to do what is right in
the eyes of everybody.
If it is possible, as far as it
depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
Romans 12:16-18
Charles Plumb flew 74 successful
combat missions over North Vietnam. On his 75th mission, with only five days
before he was to return home, Plumb was shot down, captured, tortured, and
imprisoned in an 8 foot x 8 foot cell for the next six years.
Eventually, Charles Plumb made it home. One day, he was
sitting in a restaurant in Kansas City.
“A man about two tables away kept looking at me,” he explains. “I didn't
recognize him. But, a few minutes into our meal he stood up and walked over to
my table, looked down at me, pointed his finger in my face and said, ‘You're
Captain Plumb.’ I looked up and I said, ‘Yes sir, I'm Captain Plumb.’"
The man then said, "You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You were on the
aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down. You parachuted into enemy
hands and spent six years as a prisoner of war." Charles Plumb was stunned.
He asked the stranger how he knew so much about him.
The man simply replied, "Because, I packed your parachute."
Mr. Plumb says, “I was speechless. I staggered to my feet and held out a very
grateful hand of thanks.” He then told his new friend, “I must tell you I've
said a lot of prayers of thanks for your nimble fingers, but I never thought
I'd have the opportunity to express my gratitude in person."
Charles Plumb was
overjoyed, but he didn’t get much sleep that night. “I kept thinking about that
man. 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 board 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. How
many hours did he spend on that long wooden table in the bowels of that ship
weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of those chutes? I could have cared
less...until one day my parachute came along and he packed it for me.”
Right now, this very
moment, ask yourself this one simple question,
“Who’s packing my parachute?”
This one question
gives you an incredible opportunity to see the unseen, to know the unknown and
to appreciate the overlooked. But, you must be honest with yourself. Who are
the special – and maybe not so special - people in your life who provide you
with strength, support, encouragement – or just a smile, the brakes fixed on
your car, your bags packed at the grocery store – who make your days better and
brighter?
The Lord sends a lot
of people to pack our parachutes everyday. We may not know exactly who they
are, but it could be anyone. That’s why we must appreciate and show God’s love
to everyone we meet.
This Week’s Prayer
Dear Lord, You have saved me every way a person can be saved. You have saved my life, my soul and my place in heaven. I know you send people to save me every day. Thank you for them. I ask that you bless their lives and their work. Please allow me to show them the appreciation and gratitude they deserve. And show me the many opportunities I will have to pack the parachutes of those around me. Amen.