All over France beautifully painted doors welcome guests! Two of these photos above are found in one of my favorite arrondissement's, Le Marais! It is a historic district in Paris filled with quaint winding cobble stone streets where locals and tourists still enjoy the beauty! It is the area I love to stay in when visiting Paris! The quaint hotels welcome their guest as if they have been waiting for you! Even though strangers in the beginning, it doesn't take long to feel, the acceptance and the warmth once inside the beautiful doors.
How do you welcome your guest through your door? Do you make them feel welcome? Do you make them feel like a long lost friend who has come to you for fellowship and restoration. What is restorative friendship? This kind of loving restorative friendship is rare but it is the kind of friend we all should strive to be. In the film, Chocolat, an outsider enters a beautiful French village and opens a shop with her meager funds. The shop has gorgeous doors which she lovingly restores and keeps open to the villagers. She wasn't a religious person so she was gossiped about in the little village where church was more of a social event. In life, talk does little to refresh one's spirit. Unconditional love seems to be the answer. Her little shop became a haven for the unloved and wounded in spirit. She used the resources that she had, though meager, to accept, love, and repair what had been broken in others. It worked! The entire little village was changed because of her choice to act instead of just talk. Oh, how I pray we can leave our own selves for a short while and act on behalf of those who are hurting. If we could.........the world would be a more wonderful place! Love someone today without any expectations and trust God's power to change the situation! Everyday is a gift!
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