Who Packed your Parachute?

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

That is so much more than just a "cliché" that I say at the beginning of most of my blogs. It is the written, inspired Word of God, from Psalm 118:24.

God has given us such a gift in this day. We have another opportunity to make things right with those we may have wronged. We have another opportunity to give Godly influence to those we may have overlooked. We have another opportunity to spend time with a child that we may have been too busy to enjoy. We have another opportunity to be a better employee than what we have been. We have another opportunity to be a better spouse today, than what we were yesterday. We have another opportunity to let those we greatly appreciate know it!

I am so thankful for so many people in my life. I pastor, in my opinion, the greatest church that there is. What wonderful people. They are always willing to volunteer of their time, give of their resources, and work hard to make our community a better place to live, and our church a lighthouse to the Delta region. I am indeed blessed. To all of the West Memphis First Assembly of God family…"Thank you for who you are and the love that you show to me and my family daily. You are the best!"

As I think about those words, I am reminded of something that I read from Proverbs recently. Let me share it with you:

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it. Proverbs 3:27 NIV

Now, I would like to tell you a story that I read recently. Charles Plumb was a Navy pilot in Vietnam. After 75 missions his plane was destroyed and he parachuted into enemy territory. He survived six years in a communist prison. Now he lectures on his experiences. One day a man came up to him and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" Plumb replied, "How in the world did you know that?" Smiling, the man said, "I packed your parachute. I guess it worked!"

That night Plumb couldn't sleep. He said, "I kept wondering what that man might have looked like in uniform. How many times I'd walked past him without speaking, because I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. I thought of the hours he'd spent in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't even know."

As I read that story, the question kept coming into my mind, "So, who packed your parachute? Who helped you to get to where you are? Who put their all in the line for you?"

There are so many who daily pack my parachute. My wonderful pastors and wives: Bill and Becky Harness, Clayton and Laurie Adams, Johnny Powell. They make up a wonderful pastoral team. Then my office staff is the absolute best: Shirley Cox, Beth Wilson, and Dorinda Blann. Then of course, my board of deacons…and I could go on and on! We have wonderful lay ministry in our church. I am blessed to have so many who "pack my parachute." I try to tell them regularly how much I appreciate them and their efforts.

Outside of Jesus, the one person who has impacted my life the most over the past 26 years is my beautiful wife Dorinda. She hourly packs my parachute, and makes me desire to be a better man, husband, father, Pastor, and friend. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with such an indescribable blessing into my life. We have spent 25 years together as husband and wife, and hope for another 50 plus!

How about you? Why don't you take a moment to think about who packed your parachute? Who do you owe a debt of gratitude to? Of course, we all owe so much to Jesus, but who else do you need to say "thank you " to?

Paul looks back and recalls people most of us have never heard of - like Andronicus and Junia, "Who for my sake risked their necks" (Romans 16:4).

There are no 'self-made' people. The higher you go, the more dependent you become on others. George Matthew Adams says, "Everyone who has ever done a kind deed or spoken a word of encouragement… has entered into the make-up of our character… our thoughts… our success." So, who packed your parachute? Be sure to show your appreciation by sending a card, email, text or phone call! Why not do it today?

Blessings!

Pastor Rusty L. Blann