23 Nov Show your home gratitude

Gratitude journals are a great way to remember all the things for which we are thankful. It’s easy to forget so it’s important to write them down.  It fills our hearts to see how blessed we are as we read through the list of events, people and objects that grace our lives. We may mention that we are grateful to have a place to live; we may even mention we are grateful to live in a wonderful place.

But have we ever directly thanked our home for all it does?

There’s a quote by Mark Twain in which he refers to the importance of noticing our home:  “We never return from an absence that its face does not light up and speak out its eloquent welcome, and we cannot enter it unmoved.”

Do we ever thank our house for this eloquent welcome? Do we even notice? When it’s cold outside and the furnace is working to keep us warm and cozy, do we utter a whisper of gratitude for all its doing for us? Are we grateful when we can smugly sit curled up by the
television while our home is taking the brunt of a brutal storm going on outside?

Here are some ways you can show gratitude for your home. Any one of these will make you both feel great:

1. Acknowledge its presence by saying a silent “good night” and “thank you” to your home each evening as you lock your doors and turn off the lights.
2. Keep repairs up-to-date, even small ones. It shows you care.
3. Invite other people to stop by, even if only a couple and even if only for a few moments.  It indicates that you’re proud of your home and like to show it off.
4. Name your home—-this will solidify your relationship, making it a friendship.
5. From time to time, complete the sentence: I want to thank you for_____________________. Think of a different reason each time you do this.

As with anyone who is the recipient of gratitude and acknowledgement, the object of your appreciation thrives as a result—-pets, children, friends . . . . and your home.  The more you thank it, the more blessings it will send your way.