Who's Packing Your Parachute?

I read a great story today:

Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy lands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now 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. "I guess it worked!"

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

******

This article prompted me to think about the people who pack my mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes. The ones that get me through my daily hurdles - and help me along the way. Some do so quietly and from behind the scenes - while others trudge daily through the muddy waters with me side-by-side. I even have a special few who do both. And though I try to tell thank them every chance I get, I know that it isn't nearly often enough.

Tell me - who packs your parachute....and have you thanked them lately?