RHS(Restless Holiday Syndrome)

I coined a new phrase today while texting with one of my favorites, Restless Holiday Syndrome.  It was in attempts to aptly describe my feelings at the moment.  I am restless, which is a common problem for me, and of course I wanted to know why.  The holidays, that is why.  This season where we celebrate family, light, togetherness, Silk Seasonal Nog(Can I get an amen?!), and often what we lack.  It is often said that Christmas is one of the hardest times to be single, and with that I would say the hardest time to be without a family member(s).  We feel our loneliness; we feel deeply what we don’t have.  Now, the world is telling us what we don’t have materially, but our hearts are yearning for relationships.  Whether that is for deeper friendships, the child we have prayed for, a renewed marriage, the happy family table, or the certain mister(or misses).  We want more, we feel more, we need more, and the media the activity encourages us in that.  It is this season where we cherish together time, the smells, the sights, the tastes more than any other time.  Perhaps, we finally take a breath and try to connect with all that Christmas is.    On top of the experiences, we reflect on what was, by going through pictures, and we dream about what could be, all the while trying to take it all in. No wonder, we get restless.

For me, I am remembering my sweet times at Christkindlemarkts drinking Gluhwien and taking all the grandeur in with my fabulous Vienna family(that is until the stinky cheese assaulted my olfactory…yuck.) I am trying to enjoy being with my family here and not miss the sweet time I have here, yet wondering how many Christmases I have left in America.  Then of course, with all of those guilty pleasure Christmas movies, I am reminded that this is the time to fall in love!  I am one slip on the ice away from being swept off my feet by a handsome stranger, I just know it! 😉

If there is one lesson that the Lord continually teaches me it is that restlessness points me to Him. His complete nature, His otherness, that in Him I lack for nothing.  As I was thinking about what Christmas is about, Immanuel, God with us, I am thankful for this restlessness.  God is with us, I should not be comfortable, I should be filled with reverence over what He has done, and the Ebenezer stones he has helped me raise.  I should be expectant, and filled with hope for what is to come!

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” -John 1: 14

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  -Is. 7: 14

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”  -Is. 9: 6-7