Home as Sanctuary: The Feel and Texture of Home

Home A Sanctuary for Healing Touch

The softness of the throw on my couch calls to me on this chili autumn day. I can feel my body relax as I give in to letting the couch hold me. I bet there is a place in your home that you gravitate to. That when you sit in that chair or stand at that window you feel “at home.”

In a culture saturated with constant stimulation, touch is the sense we register most yet notice least. Our nervous systems are in near-constant contact. We are in contact with fabric against skin, feet on hardwood, the familiar weave of a throw blanket. Yet 2024–2025 research continues to affirm that conscious, nurturing touch is one of the most powerful regulators of human wellbeing, especially in our homes. Studies from the Touch Research Institute and a 2025 European Wellbeing Survey report that even small moments of tender touch—stroking fabric intentionally, a lingering hug, petting an animal—can lower cortisol, increase oxytocin, and restore a grounded sense of safety in the body.

Home is the first sanctuary where we can rehearse being present to healing touch. Reaching out to really touch our surroundings slows us down long enough to inhabit our lives instead of rushing through them.

What comforting touch have I missed because I was on autopilot and in a hurry?

A soft throw on a quiet morning is not just comfort; it gives the nervous-system permission to rest. A child’s hug isn’t just affection; it is belonging embodied.I want to be available to my son’s spontaneous hugs even if my hands are wet.

Five years ago my world was subjected to an animal invasion. I was supposed to live in an animal free home all the days of my life. But today a mini golden doodle now resides here. She and I are on petting terms now, when I allow myself to touch the softness of her floppy ears, I understand how my children love her. So then, Custard curled against a leg is not just companionship; it is connection without words.

In reclaiming touch, we reclaim presence—and through presence, we rediscover peace.

Three Acts of Beauty

This touch though physical can also become spiritual and transcendent. My prayer is that those who enter my home will never be afraid to touch, explore, and sit anywhere. (Peep the dog on my favorite chair, who am I?)

But they will also feel their soul touched by a welcoming Peace that nourishes them just as they are.

The spiritual work of homemaking is less about styling the space and more about shepherding the atmosphere toward connection. Christian hospitality has always been rooted in welcome, not showmanship: a table that says, “come as you are,” a room that signals, “you belong here,” even if the cushions aren’t fluffed and the sink is full.

Reclaiming the sacred gift of touch is less about adding one more ritual and more about slowing enough to noticewhat’s already there. The softness of the seat cushion that catches your exhale. The warmth of a mug before morning words arrive. The brief moment when a child leans in — that holy window before they run off again.

The work of Shepherding the atmosphere toward connection invites us to re-presence ourselves to our own lives.

Lingering instead of brushing past: a 6-second hug is proven to shift our physiology — yet most of us give 1-second embraces that never reach the heart. So, when my son leans in for a hug I will linger instead of rush off.
Letting touch interrupt us: pausing even with wet hands when a child or pet seeks connection.
Rewondering our every day moments: not by flare, but by inviting the littlest in our homes to enjoy the china on Mondays too.

Presence isn’t produced it must be permitted. And touch is often the doorway.

What recent interactions with touch in your home has this short reflection reminded you of? Is there something that needs to be put down so that your attention is one of seeking true touch?
To receive touch fully, we often have to set something down: the hurry, the phone, the mental checklist that pulls us out of our bodies and into performance. (I am constantly working on putting my phone down)
Every few hours pause and notice where your touch lingers, have you hugged someone today or received a hug fully?