Sr Grace Matsumoto
"Abide in me..."
For me, the Vow of Obedience is about finding the will of God and saying “Yes” to it.
The hard part is that the thoughts of God are often unlike my thoughts! Since I joined this Congregation, God has given me many surprises. One of them was that God offered me an opportunity to study English the day I professed my Final Vows. I was not good at English when I was a student, so it was a real surprise that God would ask this of me. Why me? Why English?… It must have already been a sign of God's plan to call me to Australia nine years later although I had no clue about that at the time.
I have now lived in Australia for over thirty-six years. I feel at home in our multicultural religious community and as a Japanese I play my own part in it. Yet even now I sometimes become frustrated on account of the language, and I question myself, Why am I here? Am I offering anything good to the people of Australia? Then I hear a voice within saying, “I am the one who called you here. I am the one who speaks. I love these people more than you do. Trust me. You can do nothing by yourself, but with me you can do marvelous things." God reminds me of the power of our apostolate which uses the media of communication. With the help of the media, my mustard seed sized contribution grows into a big tree whose branches stretch so far that I cannot see their end. So, whatever I do either at our Pauline Book Centre or helping the Japanese community here in Australia, I remember those words and trust in Him.
Even though I still see my poverty and feel my frustrations, I don’t regret that I said “Yes” to God's call to come to Australia. I have been enriched by this multicultural country and community. I have also been enriched by the many people I've met over the past thirty-six years. And I have challenged myself to contribute something to the people of this country through my ministry. If I had given in to the limitations I saw within myself, and said “No” to God's invitation, I would not have had these precious encounters and wouldn’t have lived to see His works in and through me. The words spoken by the Lord to St Paul encourage me: My grace is enough for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. I hope to continue saying “Yes” to God's invitations, trusting His words, and I will enjoy experiencing the God of surprises and the power in weakness. ❦