I didn’t wake up planning to write about this today.
This season has been heavier than I’d care for it to be lol… not just in big, dramatic ways, but in the silent ones that slowly wear you down.

But God recently put this on my heart just for me to reframe all the pressure i’ve been feeling…and now He wants me to use it (I hope) for you. This mindset has already begun redeeming parts of me that felt worn out and defeated.

When someone was anointed with oil it symbolized them being set apart. Marked with divine favor for a consecrated mission. My life hasn’t felt like divine favor for a consecrated mission lately until I realized this.

You ever notice they don’t anoint people with olives… but with olive oil?

& olives don’t release its oil unless they’re pressed.
And as I write this, I’m honestly tearing up, because I’m realizing just how much this applies to my own life right now.

Most of us want comfort. Relief. Ease.
We want out of hardship as fast as possible, and I don’t blame us. All Pleasure. No Pressing, Please.

But lately, hardship has looked like this for me
waking up at 2am just to try to get ahead
checking bank accounts before grabbing extra groceries
living distracted with too many “fires” to put out
feeling the pressure to say yes to things I’m not sure we can actually sustain

All leading me too feel like I’m not doing anything well until I realized what my
“failing” exterior circumstances were revealing. A softened heart.

I’ve texted Tori more than once in this season saying the below…

The flesh of an olive is like our impurities.
The oil inside the olive is like the Spirit within us..

The flesh has to be crushed for the oil to be revealed. That. Will. Preach.

The anointing isn’t performed with the hardness of the flesh, but the spirit of what is revealed after it’s been pressed.

The favor. The consecration. The blessing. The covering. The divine mission.
All exists because of the pressing, not the lack thereof.

So when you’re being pressed, what’s being revealed?
Areas that need refining?
Or maybe a deeper, quieter godliness God wants you to walk in daily, not just when things feel hard.

The problem is, we put all our focus on the crushing.
We resist it. Avoid it. Pray it away as fast as possible.

Instead of leaning in…
instead of asking what God might be doing through it.

Think about it in practical terms.
If an olive resisted the press, there would be no oil. No anointing. (No amazing bread dipping sauce. lol)
And if I were trying to make olive oil and kept finding hardened olives, I’d probably toss them aside and look for the ones that could actually produce what was needed.

Are you being hardened by hardship?
Or are you being softened… pressed… sanctified?

Is the pressure increasing intimacy with the Father
or quietly pushing you away from Him?

You’re not being crushed without purpose.
There’s oil in this season. 🫒

love yall,

We have some helpful links and resources below.

PS: I’m currently building a list of resources to help believers reshape hardship and step out of survival mode.
If this message resonated with you and you’d like to be the first to know when those resources are available, I’d love to have you on the waitlist

PS: This is your last chance to enter to win a FREE 3-night stay at our Vision Casting retreat cabin in Gatlinburg, TN 🤍
Entering is super simple — click the YouTube video below and follow the steps in the description (it takes about one minute).
We’ll announce the winner this Wednesday, 1/14/26.

P.P.S.: Unveiled is officially back open 🤍
If you’ve been feeling stuck spiritually, overwhelmed physically, or unsure how to move forward in general, this could be the perfect resource to help you. It was built for the woman who is ready to do the deep work with Jesus with gentle structure, guidance, accountability, and community! The first call is already set for January 21st, so if you feel that Holy Spirit prompting, tap the link below for more details on how to join!