“Clothe yourselves with kindness, humility, and tenderness.” ~ Colossians 3:12
He grew up a Kansas
farm boy with dreams of becoming a pilot. After graduating from the Naval
Academy and completing his training, Charlie Plumb earned his place in the
elite fighter school that the world celebrates as “TOP GUN.
Called signed “Plumber,” Charlie soared confidently in the
Navy’s hottest new weapon, the F-4 Phantom Jet. He flew 74 successful combat
missions over North Vietnam.
On his 75th and final
mission, enemy fire turned steel into shrapnel. Plumber punched out, trusting
the thin, silk parachute on his back while floating downward… straight into captivity.
Six torturous years behind enemy walls, Charlie would emerge with a true story
that keeps rescuing people long after the war ended.
Years later, in the calm of a Kansas City diner, a stranger
with a curious stare approached his table. He asked if Charlie served during
Vietnam. Charlie responded that he’d flown jets. The man then asked if he’d
been shot down on his final mission. Charlie nodded.
“You’re Plumber,” he
said. “U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. Fighter pilot. Shot down over somewhere Hanoi.”
The man grinned and
pumped Charlie’s hand. “I packed your parachute… it must’ve worked!”
Later that night, Plumb kept picturing that sailor, once
dressed in a crisp uniform, hands meticulously folding silk over cords deep
below deck.
A man he might have passed by countless times without a nod.
He pictured the man in his Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and
bell-bottom trousers.
He, the warrior pilot with wings and a swagger. That other
man… “merely a sailor.” He pictured himself in a carefully engineered
flight suit. The sailor clad in a “Dixie cup” shaped hat, a bib in the back,
and bell-bottom trousers. Yet those nimble hands had folded hope and life into
a perfect pack that opened on the worst day of Plumber’s life.
We all have them - quiet
heroes without medals or applause, but who stand tall because they kneel to
help us. The parent who really listens when life’s burdens are too heavy to
carry alone.. The stranger who smiles you back into humanity. The neighbor who
checks in, the mentor who guides gently, the nurse who speaks comfort into
fear. Some pack our physical parachutes, others our emotional, mental, or
spiritual ones.
Our lives fly by like supersonic
jets. Sometimes we forget the small courtesies, the thanks, the well-deserved compliments,
the tiny kindnesses offered with no agenda at all. Yet those are the stitches
that keep our parachutes intact.
As you fly through the
days ahead, glance around the hangar of your life. Offer gratitude. Celebrate
those unseen hands. Your safe landing might be resting quietly in someone
else’s careful attention.
Lord Jesus, You shared kindness the world
had never known. Even when faced with hostility, Your response was one of
unwavering love and calmness. Shape my heart to follow Your example with
humility, grace, and compassion. Amen.
