My daughter and I share a genuine love for olives. She, however, likes black olives, and I like only green olives.
When I was a little girl, my dad and I would sit in front of the television, watch our favorite show, and eat olives right out of the jar. Many years later, I was shopping at a health food store and saw an entire olive bar! I was so overwhelmed with all the different kinds that I eventually left without buying any.
The choice was just too stressful.
Despite my love for olives, I never quite understood why people were so impressed with olive oil. It seemed to me that if you had cooked, baked, or sautéed with any type of oil, then olive oil would be no different.
Many people would likely rise in rebellion over that statement, especially if you are Italian or Greek. But, to someone who is unfamiliar with how oil is made, just a bit of knowledge can bring a whole new light to the subject.
Let’s consider the olive for a moment. I used to look at the size of the olives and think, they must need a lot of olives to make oil. Exactly how much oil can really come out of something so tiny?
Then, I saw a video that showed just how the modern world does it. Freshly harvested olives are washed and cleaned of debris, then air-dried. They are then crushed, dividing the pulp from the pit. It is slowly mixed into a paste, spread on woven mats that are stacked on top of each other in layers, and then squeezed until the oil is separated from the paste. When the hydraulic press begins to squeeze those mats, in one great rush, a flood of oil flows forth.
It's simply amazing to see that something so little can hold so much within!
Did you know that olives were a valuable crop in ancient Israel? They were a dietary staple, but they also had a spiritual significance. They were frequently mentioned throughout the Bible and symbolized peace and hope.
However, I think about Job when I think about olives, and it's not because he was an olive grower. I think of him when I think of olives because, in the same way that an olive is squeezed to produce oil, Job was pressed on all sides as well.
Job spent the beginning of his life, covered in blessings, wealthy, the father of many children, and a devoted husband. Life had not begun to “put the pressure on” Job. He was greatly favored because he loved, served, and revered God. Therefore, he was blessed.
But there came a time when the Lord allowed Job to be tested.
The devil sought to tempt him by bringing one calamity after another upon Job. He lost his children, his servants, his wealth, and his health. Layer after layer of heartbreak and each time the weight of it would crush him more and more.
Then, just as the devil thought he had crushed him to the point of cursing God, out of Job flowed the oil of humility, repentance, acceptance, gratitude, and praise.
It is a reminder to you and me that the pressure that we go through in this life can either drive us away from God or bring us closer to him.
As the New Year begins, we all have a choice. “…as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. (Psalm 52:8)
Dawn Hayes is mother of four, grandmother to three and she and her husband pastor at New Hope Assembly of God in Senatobia. She has been writing “Sips from the Well” since 2015.
