Pesto

Nothing is stagnant in my garden. Everyday something is different than it was yesterday. My basil leaves are beginning to yellow. The bright green leaves are duller today; perhaps the shorter days are causing this. Even their scent seems muted. I love the flavor of basil, so I am going to harvest these leaves while they are still green and make pesto.

One of the many lessons that gardening has taught me is that procrastination is rarely a good plan. Because everyday something is different than it was yesterday. The cucumber you let grow another day yellows and sours. The broccoli you leave for tomorrow blossoms overnight. The basil left a few more days browns and withers. You must watch these plants closely, and act when the time is right.

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2b.

What fruit is God bringing forth in my life that I needs to use today? What act of care, what expression of comfort, what word of support needs to happen today?

There may be obstacles in the way. There were in my pesto making. My food processor died, full of half-made pesto. Additional leaves had been cut; I needed to make the pesto that day. My first couple of phone calls went unanswered. Then I remembered my sister who was only in town for a few days, staying at her son’s home. Almost 12 years older than me and living out of town, she and I didn’t have a history of working together on projects. Now we do!

Instead of losing my pesto and my patience struggling with unwieldy appliances, she and I made five batches of pesto and shared an enjoyable time working together. There was more than just pesto made that morning!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

I love that the organizers of the Bible titled this section “The Value of a Friend.” As a widow living alone, I could let fear and failure and falling dictate my life. But I don’t. I have friends, and family that are friends, and I am not alone. Even when my problems are comparatively minor in scope, say, a failing food processor, when I work with another, I can have a good reward for my toil.

And the comfort of friendly support and a shared experience is even more treasured than the pesto!

Sometimes the working together is more important than the project. As a task oriented individual, I feel I should tell myself this every day. My relationships are more important than my to-do list. Your needs may well be of greater importance than my plans. I have been put here in this time and place for a reason (Esther 4:15). Perhaps that reason is to be with you right now.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others. Philippians 2:3-4.

I am grateful that my sister was available to help me make pesto before the leaves wilted. I am grateful that someone invented pesto to preserve that wonderful basil taste long after the plants rested. I am grateful that I will get to reap the benefits of my basil in the future, because I acted, with help, at the right time.

Even as much as I will enjoy this pesto in the future, I think the story of how my sister rescued me that morning will last longer. Isn’t that the way with God? What we accomplish may last a while; what He accomplishes lasts much longer, maybe forever.

Do what needs to be done today, but stay open to God including others in your tasks. His plans for you are far more rewarding than your plans for yourself. You may find yourself making memories as well as pesto!

Betsy