Why "Soul Miner's Daughter"?

“Soul Miner’s Daughter” obviously alludes to the song by Loretta Lynn (and subsequent movie), “Coal Miner’s Daughter”.  Of course, because it was popular when I was growing up, I assume it's "obvious" to everyone, but the truth is I’m getting to that age where eh, maybe not so much.  So to people under 40 who are reading this, you can Google it if you want.

I am in fact, a coal miner’s granddaughter.  My paternal grandfather, Eldon Cardwell, was a hard-working, hard-living coal miner.  Though I didn’t know him, I’ve heard stories from my dad about the taxing physical labor, danger, and low wage the job bore. At 46, he went to the doctor and learned that he had black lung and emphysema, and alcoholism wasn’t helping his case.  The doctor told him if he would quit smoking and drinking, he could live a fairly normal life.  He asked the doctor, “How long do I have if I don’t quit?” The doctor told him, about 8 years.  He didn’t quit, and he was dead at 54.  Apparently a strong will runs in the family.  He was going to do what he was going to do…and pay the price.

A better understanding of science and mining techniques have obviously improved the hardship on man over the years, but the work is still required.  Drilling through layers and layers of sand and rock, or tunneling through the earth’s crust to kimberlite, or extracting from a seabed hundreds of meters under water, must first take place in our recovery of treasures hidden in God’s earth.  Ore must be blasted or crushed, scrubbed, separated multiple times, and eventually the mineral or gem surfaces.  Then it must be refined and cleaned.

In my interpretation, the Soul Miner is my Father in Heaven, God of Creation, Lord of Heaven and Earth. The whole of Scripture teaches of God’s pursuit of relationship with man.  He’s willing to dig through the layers of ignorance, hate and pride that form a wall around our hearts.  He will build tunnels through the crusty surface of our mind that has believed the lies of this world, He will dive deep into the waters of hurt, shame and fear to reach our heart and draw us to Him.  We will likely be blasted or crushed, cleansed, put through a sifter multiple times, and refined by fire in our walk with Him, but when He is finished, we will reflect Him perfectly.

He has left us an amazing inheritance of treasures to discover.  Not only literally, deep in the earth and sea, but if we’re willing to seek Him in every aspect of life, in the Bible and through people and experiences in our life, we can discover His ultimate sovereignty, His amazing grace and love for us, and His desire to work in even what we would consider the small things of life.  He is everywhere, watching and waiting for us to discover what He has hidden for us if we are willing to walk with Him.  Sometimes when I have an experience like this, I can imagine Him looking at me and winking, “Did you see what I did there?” 

I am the “Soul Miner’s Daughter,” and I invite you to join me as I mine His Word and my life experiences, and share the treasures He has shown me along the way.  The exciting part is, there are equally wonderful treasures waiting for you, too! We all have an inheritance, if we seek it.

Prov. 2:2-4 “Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.  Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would silver; seek them like hidden treasures.”