Clearing the clutter

Couples wishing to get married in church now can attend a "Fiancè course" where all manner of topics relevant to marriage are discussed, from getting on with your new relatives to adding spice to life. One couple I know were told to imagine that they were each bringing  to their marriage a suitcase full of traditions and habits from their family of origin. The idea was that you took out of the suitcase all the things that could cause friction and left only the good stuff. Every family has it's habits and acceptable values. Although I have been married nearly 37 years I have still got things in my suitcase that I am holding onto. The one  thing that made my normally sweet and placid mother irate was leaving wet towels on the bed ( probably because of all the TB) none of us liked  discussing other people' s business, talking rudely, walking round the house in outdoor shoes, lying on wet grass, these are all still in my suitcase. I like to think I' put some nice things in it that I acquired from my husband's family, eating together and having a proper conversation, looking up difficult words in the dictionary, sending thank-you letters and being frugal, making and mending, we just threw socks away when they got holes. This may seem rather superficial but it is amazing what can get on
people's nerves. They used to say people could file for divorce for not putting the cap back on the
toothpaste.

As Christmas approaches we could all try and clear the clutter for Christmas, so we can put up our decorations and they will stand out, and in the same way try to clear the clutter from our relationships so just the love shines through.