Another thought provoking message...

As I have stated before, the chaplain on base sends out weekly message that are filled with inspiration and that are very thought provoking. This week was no exception....

~The following story is a reminder to recognize those around you who have had a positive impact on your life.

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane as 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 and then shared lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
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 white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder 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 man 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.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.


As you go through this day, this week and this holiday weekend, recognize people who pack your parachute.

Let us also remember and show gratitude to those who have served and who are currently serving at home and abroad. They have all made huge sacrifices for your daily lives. I am honored to be the spouse of an active duty member but I am also humbled by the knowledge that there are spouses out there who's loved ones won't celebrate with them this weekend. There are loved ones who won't come home for the remainder of this year and then there are loved ones who won't be returning at all. While you are enjoyed your BBQ, your beer and your paid holiday at the lake...remember why you have that opportunity!!

Happy Memorial Day to every veteran of this great county!