With all the talk swirling around today about the housing and real estate market, I’ve been thinking a lot about what “home” means. For some, of course, it is considered an investment to be flipped at the swiftest and greatest profit possible. For others, it is just a place to house possessions and provide a place to sleep. Still others search for just the right location; the actual dwelling place might be an afterthought in light of school, work, and shopping considerations. And, too, there are those who want a house to reflect wealth, prestige, and social standing.

Sometimes, superficial considerations mask what’s really important. For those of us with chronic illness, seeing “home” as a place where we can nurture health, feel secure, and be comfortable is more of a priority than location, location, location.

Some things I find useful in making a house (or apartment, or even a room of one’s own) a place of support for the chronic illness sufferer are:

1) Keep it simple. No matter how small or large the house, the simpler life within it is, the easier it is to take care of it and let it take care of you.

2) Cultivate comfort. That antique furniture might be worth a mint, but apart from sentimental value, how comfortable is it to sit, lie, or dine on it? Is extra pain worth it? Being comfortable helps us relax and can calm down stress. Ahh!

3) Personalize it. Remodeling and flipping property might be well and good for some, but a home contains personal touches that help us reflect who we are and can play up the great attributes we have, even if we do live with terrible pain.

4) Invite quiet. Peace can flow into us like a nurturing river, a quiet river, when we allow it to. Even in an urban environment, we have some control over the noise inside our homes – and can take steps to quiet it when we want to listen in to God’s wonderful whisper.

5) Organize for ease. Cooking utensils at your fingertips, lightweight laundry baskets, telephones and remotes where you can get to them without upset – organization doesn’t have to be rigid, but it can make life so much easier, especially for daily tasks.

These are a few of my own hints – let me know what some of yours are!

Happy Home!

Blessings for the day,

Maureen