March 15, 2016 – From Sr. Karen Bernhardt

For openness to the mysterious ways in which God is revealed to us….. As I was listening to this General Intercession during a Sunday Liturgy, I thought of all the companions on the journey who have been a mysterious revelation of God. In my volunteer ministry with a human trafficking coalition, I met a man who was sex trafficked as a young child at age 8. He was taken off the playground at his elementary school. Eventually he found a way to escape and was returned to his family, but he never got the counseling and support he so needed to overcome this traumatic experience. When I met him in his late 30’s on a cold winter day, he was homeless and living in his car with his dog. He wanted to join our coalition to advocate for other human trafficking victims even though his health was greatly compromised. We have kept in contact over the years by phone and email as he moved to other states continuing his journey. It never fails that when we talk, he asks me the deepest, most profound questions about my faith, God, and my vocation. I am deeply grateful for our conversations and the insights that I receive from this companion on my journey. May we never limit God in our lives but be open to the surprising ways God is with us.