**Companion Resources Newsletter**
edited by Paul D. Leichty
Volume 5, No. 5 May/June 2003
Greetings from the land of Goshen!
In Biblical times, the land of Goshen was the place where Jacob (also called “Israel”) and his family settled in Egypt after a famine racked their homeland. That settlement came about after Jacob’s son, Joseph, was sold into slavery by his brothers. Due to a remarkable series of events, Joseph eventually gained the confidence of the Pharaoh who put him in charge of running the country to prepare for the lean years of harvest.
Goshen was a place where the Israelites were able to find a temporary place of rest and recovery as they reflected on their family’s journey and sought God’s will for their future.
So it has been for our family coming back to Goshen, Indiana. I say “back” because we were married in Goshen and both of our children were born in Goshen. Yet, we had been gone for over 20 years.
Goshen now represents a place where we can stop and take a breath and seek out the next phase in our family journey. It is a place where we are closest to the most family and the most support systems. It is a place of some security even as world events make most of life seem insecure. Whether we will settle down for a long time as Jacob’s family did in Egypt or whether we will venture out again remains to be seen.
Life with a family member with disabilities seems to require a Goshen in our lives, regardless of where the physical location is. We need the security of a home base, familiar and friendly people, support systems at many levels, and more routine work that can help us recover from the “famine.”
There are still many issues to deal with. Just when the vocational opportunities and personal assistance seem to come together in a good routine for our son, something upsets the apple cart and we are left to scramble to put something new together again. In the helping agencies, people come and go as the systems rise and crumble according to circumstances and the quality of leadership. Even in the church, we struggle to put together basic ministries and support, encouragement, and advocacy for families and congregations.
Yet God is good. The proverbial wolf has been kept from the door and we are finding our way–in Goshen.
Blessings to all of you in your journeys,
Paul D. Leichty
Goshen, Indiana
PDLeichty@cresources.org
Phone/Fax: 1-877-214-9838 (toll free)
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