I was first drawn to Hestia while I was in the seemingly hopeless depths of chronic illness without answers or compassion from medical providers.
She helped me find joy in the small things, see the many kindnesses in the world—big and small, and how to find hope again.
She was with me through the appointments begging to be believed, through the painful treatments, through the days of symptoms and side effects.
She helped me view each minuscule (yet oh so difficult) effort to clean and maintain my home not as something to feel bad about, but as something so profound as a devotion to myself and to her.
Perhaps that’s why I feel closest to her on my hardest days. That effort to still make myself a cup of tea and place another on her altar, to intentionally light a candle for her, to clean my home or find a way to be kind to myself and others despite the hardship. To find comfort and peace in the times that you have to look for it.
And there’s also something meaningful about leaving offerings in the good times too. A tribute to the times that those comforts felt hard to find. A promise to myself and to her that I’ve made it through those times and can do it again, as many times as I have to. ❤️