Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 GNT
Many hands make light work.
Traditional Saying
Do you ever use basil in cooking? It has the most delightful fragrance and flavor! For years, I contemplated making homemade basil pesto with my garden grown basil, but the leaves must be harvested before frost as well as processed as soon as you pick them. In years past, I was busy enjoying summer with my husband and family so I never seemed to find time to make basil… I would always have the best intentions, but then life would get busy and, the next thing I knew, frost had killed and wilted the tender plants. The opportunity was lost!
Finally, a few years ago, a friend encouraged me to make use of my abundant basil, and we made homemade basil pesto together. IT TASTED AMAZING!!! But I have to say the process is rather time consuming and tedious for the amount of pesto that is generated by a large bowlful of leaves. Still, not only was I hooked on the flavor, but so too were my adult sons.
This year, though, I was feeling particularly unmotivated. Yet my oldest son kept reminding me that it needed to be done. When a freeze was imminent, he even offered to help me make pesto. So, we spent hours one Saturday making homemade basil pesto. We chatted while we plucked the leaves off the stems, then worked together to combine and process ingredients before plopping spoonfuls on a baking tray to freeze in small amounts. Finally, we wrapped the frozen little clumps to preserve them, knowing that they would go into the family Christmas lasagna as well as many other delectable dishes. Indeed, I was so inspired after that day that I went on to use the rest of my basil to make more pesto on my own.
The power of encouragement is amazing, particularly when joined with working alongside someone. Not only does the Bible encourage us to work together, but we’ve all seen the positive rewards of when two or more people combine efforts towards a project or goal. Indeed, it’s one reason that teamwork is encouraged in school, the workplace, and life.
So, this month, offer to help someone with a task or ask someone to help you. For those in the United States, an especially good time to do this is to pool efforts to make a wonderful Thanksgiving meal to share!