I am continuously amazed at how little I know. Now for those of you who know me best, and who AREN'T at all amazed by that... let me explain what I mean. How many of YOU have ever said something just because you've heard it all your life, but when it comes right down to it, you have no idea where it came from, or what the origin of the saying really is? Yeah... me too. But it is always fun when you get the low down on something you've heard all your life.
Here are a couple that I really enjoyed. Back in the old days, most of the houses had thatched roofs. These roofs were simply thick straw, piled high, with very little or no support underneath. During the cold winter months, this thatched roof was the only place for some animals to keep warm or dry. So dogs, cats, and other small animals, (mice, rats, and several interesting species of bugs) lived IN or ON the roof. When it rained, the straw would get very slippery, and at times, one or more of these animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs".
Some of the smaller critters would simply fall through the roof, into the house. Not especially disturbing, except for instances when they would alight in bedroom... and on the bed. Not everything that "dropped" through the roof was alive... sometimes, their "droppings" dropped. So some ingenious person came up with spreading a sheet across 4 posts at the corners of the bed... hence, the "canopy bed" came into existence.
Only the wealthy had floors made of anything but dirt. Hence the term, "dirt poor". The wealthy had floors made of slate. Pretty, durable, and very easy to keep, with one very slight exception. In the winter, when wet, these slate floors would become as slick as ice. The wealthy figured out a solution. They would spread thresh on the floor. Over the course of the wet winter months, they would simply add more thresh as the need arose, until they would have so much on their floors, that when they opened the door, the thresh would fall outside, creating an even bigger mess. So they solved that problem by placing a small board across the bottom of the doorway to keep the thresh in the house, and the "threshold" was born.
In merry old England, in the 1500's they began to have a serious problem. Being a relatively small island with only so much room available, they began to run out of places to bury people. So they would dig up old coffins, remove the bones inside, take those bones to what they called a bone house... dispose of the used coffin, and re-use the grave. But an amazing discovery took place during this practice. They discovered that roughly 1 out of ever 25 coffins exhumed, would have claw marks, scratch marks on the INSIDE... leading to the only logical conclusion... they were burying people alive at an alarming rate. So to make sure this sort of thing didn't keep happening, they would tie a string around the wrist of the deceased, feed it through a small hole in the lid of the coffin, up through the dirt, and tie the other end to a small bell hanging by the fresh grave. People would be assigned to sit out by the grave all night... during "the grave yard shift" remaining alert, listening for the those who might be "saved by the bell".
Freshly baked bread was given out according to social status. For example... the workers of a household would be given the bottom of the loaf, usually a tad burned and much harder. The rest of the family divided the rest of the loaf... except for special guests... and they were given "the upper crust".
Isn't it great, that our Lord and Savior loves us so much, that just like the animals, we're provided, in Him, a shelter from the cold and wet times of life. And when the footing becomes slippery and we fall through... He's provided a safety net to catch us and save us from the fall? That we don't have to associate ourselves as being dirt poor, but rather the co-heirs of the treasures of heaven, itself. And that there is a reliable "stop" that can keep us from falling out when the door is suddenly opened. Isn't it great that we have a Shepherd that watches over us continually... in the brightest day AND during the grave yard shift. Isn't it wonderful that we have The Bread Of Life, given freely to who-so-ever will... and it ain't the burnt bottom of the loaf, beloved... it's nothing but "the upper crust".
It sure is good to know that we don't have to worry about being "saved by the bell"... We're saved by the blood of the Lamb.
Hey... it's Just A Thought... but as for me... I sure am glad!!!
Pastor Eddy
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