COCO CHANEL
The Weekly Update – March 2, 2026
The other day, while traveling through the Auvergne region, I stopped the car in the small town of Courpière to take a stroll…
I picked a street at random. Walking past houses, I noticed one that is, particularly in a bad shape. On the door, which no one would want to go through, is a small “For Sale” sign, crudely taped to it.
I looked up and saw a modest grey plaque engraved with the words “Gabrielle CHANEL, known as ‘Coco Chanel,’ lived here from 1888 to 1893.”
I wondered if I had read it correctly! So the famous Coco Chanel lived here! Between the ages of 7 and 12!
Coco Chanel is one of the most famous fashion designers, known for her haute couture and perfumes that bear her name.
Who would have thought at the time that the little girl from this remote village in Central France would become the symbol of French elegance throughout the world?
Similarly, who would have imagined 2,000 years ago that the little child born in a stable in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth would become the Savior of the world? The birthplace of Jesus, which my wife and I once visited, was certainly nothing to write home about at the time, and it still isn’t today!
At the end of the 19th century, the inhabitants of Courpière might have said, “Can anything good come out of Courpière?”
Just as Nathanael did 19 centuries earlier, exclaiming in the same way when speaking of Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
I would have responded to this future disciple, and to all the religious leaders who constantly despised Jesus, with the expression: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Christ was not born in a castle or a palace. And yet, all those who believe in Him are guaranteed to live in an eternal home.
“… We have a building in heaven that is the work of God, a dwelling place not made by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)
If you ever pass through the Massif Central, take a trip to Courpière.
And if you can afford it, buy this poor dwelling and turn it into the “Maison Chanel”!
Timothée & Yukki