Who or what is “Gilead”?
40+ years ago, when we were first married, my husband and I thought we might buy some land and have room in our family for some young people who needed help to get their lives sorted out. Gilead was a place in the Old Testament where “a balm for healing” was found. That was to be the name of our property.
When we went to King Island for Arthur’s first teaching appointment, the school house had three quarters of an acre of land around it. That is a lot of grass to mow. So we got a goat. Eventually we registered the name of our goat stud as “Gilead”. We only ever had one or two goats, but they kept us in fresh milk for about six years.
When I started as a support teacher in 1986, with Year 7 to 9 boys, resources that addressed their needs were virtually non-existent, so I started developing my own and self-published them as Gilead Enterprises. Young people who are struggling with reading and spelling, need a balm for healing.
We never did get our property, but, over the years, we have had a few young people stay with us for a time. I hope and pray that the material that I have developed is a balm for many children, young people, people just learning English, parents whose children are struggling, adults who have missed out … May no other child have to suffer the distress, pain and self-doubt that my students experienced.
I love Paul Robeson singing “There is a balm in Gilead …” Paul Robeson – There is a Balm in Gilead
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