Psalm 103

1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name

.....
My sisters and I are in NYC now and the past few days have been such a blur. Literally because there was a blizzard on the day we arrived and it is not fun at all having snow blown into your face everywhere you go =P We have also been indulging ourselves in the good food here, shopping (it really is cheaper here than in Canada!), buying gifts for people, the museums (educating - the Jewish Museum; and enlightening... well a bit since now I know who Cézanne is from MoMA or the Metropolitan? =P).
But it has also been a blur because for me, I needed to realign myself after the busy term. A time of rest. A time alone with God because I know I am so needy. Away from the bustling of the streets, away from the playful chattering or deep spiritual conversations, away from even things I like to do alone - reading books, writing emails...
Away from the distractions (albeit them being good) because I really need to. It's my mind wandering around so aimlessly and not being focused on God that I can't take anymore... and that I desperately need to find rest in Him.
I need to pray.

from Prayer, by Philip Yancey

'Be still and know that I am God': the Latin imperative for 'be still' is vacate. As Simon Tugwell explains, 'God invites us to take a holiday [vacation], to stop being God for a while, and let him be God.'

and also

Stillness prepares me for the second command: 'know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' Only through prayer can I believe that truth in the midst of a world that colludes to suppress, not exalt, God....
We live on a broken planet, fallen far from God's original intent. It takes effort to remember who we are, God's creation, and faith to imagine what we someday will be, God's triumph.

Prayer can be that "channel of faith", a "realignment of everything", shifting my point of view away from my own selfishness and God grant us to see reality from His point of view.
.....
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
~Psalm 103