Our love for God should be
reflected through the values our country stands for. Today, as we celebrate
Memorial Day in America, it is good to remember those who made the ultimate
sacrifice so that we can live the life we now have.
In his book “I’m No
Hero,” U.S. Navy jet pilot Captain Charles Plumb tells the story of his
flaming plane going down in the enemy territory of the Vietnam
War zone. After seventy-five combat missions, he was shot down by a
surface-to-air missile in the dense jungles of Vietnam. Plumb ejected and
parachuted himself out of the flaming jet only to glide himself in the enemy’s
camp. He was captured as a POW. He was tortured beyond what is humane, but
somehow he survived the horrific six years in a communist Vietnamese prison.
One day, Plumb and his wife were enjoying a meal together in
a restaurant. A young man from another table walked up to theirs and said,
“You’re Plumb. You are a fighter jet pilot. You carried out missions in Vietnam
from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. Your jet was shot down!”
Perplexed, Plum asked, “Who are you? How did you know all
this?”
The young man replied, “I packed your parachute sir. I guess
it worked!”
Filled with gratitude, Plumb replied, “Yes it did! If your
chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
That night he could not sleep, thinking about the young
sailor who saved his life. How many times Plumb walked past those sailors in navy uniform with a bib flipped
backward and didn’t even bother to say, “Good morning, how are you?” or shake
their hand? In his mind, he was a fighter jet pilot – a class apart from the
lowly sailors. He began to imagine how the sailors who spent long hours
delicately weaving the material and packing the silks of each chute; at the end
of the tireless and monotonous completion, the sailor who was holding the life itself of someone whom he did not even know.
Today, Plumb lectures to thousands, crisscrossing the
country asking this one question: “Who is packing your parachute?” Sometimes in
the daily challenges of life, we miss what is really important. We fail to say
hello, please or thank you, congratulate someone
on something wonderful that has happened to them, or just do something kind for
no reason. Don’t let that be you.
You see, we all have people behind us who pack our physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual parachutes. None of us made it here on our
own. When you look back at the long line of people who have helped you, it is
only fitting to think about how you can help someone else. Your life today is
the aggregate of God’s goodness and the kindness, sacrifices, and investment in
others.
It is not enough to be grateful to them in our hearts. Let
us express to them what their sacrifice means to us. We cannot do anything to
those who made the ultimate sacrifice but we can honor those who are left
behind.
Today, let us reach out to someone who lost a loved one. Go
knock on their door and bring them something to lift their soul. Call someone
who has lost a son, or a daughter, a father, or an
uncle and let them know how grateful you are for their sacrifice. If you know
or see a serviceman in uniform, buy them their lunch. Stop them in their tracks
and take a moment to thank them for their daily service to protect our country.
If you are part of a family who lost a loved one, we want you to know that we
remember! Let us not take anything for granted. Let us value the freedom we
have and honor those who paid the price for it.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for
his friends” (John 15:13 ESV).
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