LIVING FOR THE RIGHT REASON by Robert Soto

April 7, 2010

LIVING FOR THE RIGHT REASON by Robert Soto

Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

The tribe lost another elder today. I had only met her briefly but the short time I had with her showed me two things: how much she love her God and Creator, and how proud she was of being Lipan Apache. I could have listened to her for hours. She had a lot to say of how it was when she was a little girl and the things she had to go through as Indian. At the end she asked me if she could take a picture with me and I agreed. Today I learned that she had made copies of this photo and sent it off to some of her family members. Her elderly brother wanted to know where we were when we took the picture and how she bragged that she had taken a picture with the Vice Chairman of the tribe. She was a member of our tribe and somehow related to one of my cousins. About three months ago, she had lost her son's mother-in-law and I had been invited to sing some ceremonial songs and do a traditional blessing and prayer at that funeral. When she saw this she told her daughter, "When I die, I want him to do the same for me." Well, today her wish came true and I sang and prayed for her at her graveside.

A lot went through my mind today as I sang and prayed. A lot went through my mind today as I did a traditional blessing. A lot went through my mind today as I saw a short slide presentation of this woman's life. In just three minutes' worth of pictures I saw her born and I saw her die. As I was singing this song I wondered and thought to myself, "Life is so short. It seems like one minute I am born, another I live and the next I am dead." Then it hit me and I said to myself, "In thirty years, if you get to live that long, you will be her age." Then it really hit me of how short our lives really are. That before I know it, I will be taking my last breath. That before I know it, I will be in a slide presentation. Before I know it, I will be having someone singing the same prayer songs I sang today, the same blessing I shared today and will be sharing the things I accomplished in this short time we call life. Then I remembered the words of Paul as he said, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." So as I sang, I decided that in whatever life I have left, I need to make sure it is invested not for the here and now, but for eternity to serve my God and Creator in all I do.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church