Every Christmas I pore over a jigsaw puzzle, religiously fitting the pieces together until I can stand back in satisfaction and admire the finished results.

And every Christmas I puzzle over why Jesus was born at the most troublesome period in history. Why then? The Romans had fought and plundered their way across three continents, demanding those under their rule acknowledge their superiority – which meant a very pregnant Mary had to trail all the way to Bethlehem to comply with a proud Caesar’s request for a census. Where did sending Jesus into that chaos fit in with … anything?

Jigsaws! It can be frustrating fitting the pieces together, can’t it? 

During my research for ‘The Senator’s Assignment’ I found my answer. It wasn’t a perfect time for Jesus to be born, but what the most powerful nation in the world did bring, was freedom to travel without passports – and miles and miles of open roads. Just what God needed when thirty odd years later, the story of Jesus was ready to be told.

The world is always in turmoil. But, if you put off doing something to wait for the perfect moment, it’ll never happen.

God bless you this Christmas – and what will you do in 2021?