Do you ever spend any time thinking about all of the people who are responsible for helping you make it through the day? Or are you one of those people who actually think you have made it on your own? See if the following little story improves your memory.

Charles Plumb was a United States Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a missile and after parachuting to safety he was captured and spent six years in a communist prison. He survived the ordeal and went on a lecture tour providing audiences with insight into the lessons he learned from his 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. “I guess it worked!”

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude as he shook the man’s hand, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about the man. He said, “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 how 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.

From that day on, Plumb always asked his audiences, “Who’s packing your parachute?”

Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb pointed out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plan 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 of these supports before reaching safety.

It’s easy to miss what is really important as we go through the daily challenges of life. We get so caught up in surviving that we forget about the people who have provided us with the support in order to get through those challenges. In our hurry to get on with life we may fail to say hello, please, thank you, congratulate someone else on an accomplishment, give a compliment or just do something nice for someone we love. Yet, when you think of it, where would you be if they hadn’t packed your parachute?

Take a few moments to reflect upon the parachutes you use during the day. The girl who gives you your morning coffee at the drive through; the person who ploughs the road so that you can get to work; the cleaning lady who empties your garbage at night and vacuums your office; the mechanic who works on your automobile; the police officer who enforces the speed limit on the highway; the internet provider who makes sure your email arrives on time; your spouse who is always there to listen to your problems; your child’s coach who has made the arrangements for the game or practice so that you could concentrate on other things; the grocery store which remains open late at night so that you can get those things you forgot. Think about all of the things you did today which would have been impossible or much more difficult were it not for the help or assistance of someone else. Did you thank them for what they did? Did you show your appreciation? Moreover, did you pack anyone else’s parachute today? Did you make it easier for someone else to meet life’s challenges? Remember, as well as using parachutes, we must also provide parachutes for the people who come into our life.