I can’t believe that soon it will be September, school will be starting in a few days and the leaves will soon be changing. I was driving around this weekend, looking at the world as it readies for the beginning of fall as summer comes to a close.

It seems like it was barely a whisper.

Here in the frozen tundra that is Western New York, we cling to the summer months not unlike a child clings to their mother on their very first day of school.

I should know, because I’ve seen children grabbing at their mom’s pantleg, wailing until they couldn’t breathe on the first day of school.

That’s how I feel about the impending winter, and the end of summer.

(As an aside, it wasn’t my kid who was wailing – she saunters off into the wild blue yonder without a thought.)

Even though I adore fall, I have to admit the brisk winter is not something I look forward to.

We look around as the days growing shorter, the nights getting colder and wonder when the first hint of snow will drop.

We don’t always know when the snow will hit, but we know it will be a long time before it goes away.

So, I try to soak up as much sun as I can in the summer.

For me, this summer was filled with magical occurrences, bright family moments and a variety of events.

In fact, this past weekend, my little family took a break from our normal grind and took advantage of several local happenings as a farewell to the fairer season.

We drove up the winding roads toward the lake, indulged in ice cream, visited the Celtic Festival in Mayville, watched my best friend get married and just had a break from normal life.

My kiddo woke up each day asking, “What do you want to do today?”

It was the first time in a long time we didn’t have an itinerary. No one was rushing out the door or scooting quickly over the threshold.

Aside from getting to my friend’s wedding on time, we were footloose and fancy free.

I remember often thinking, “Why can’t it always be like this?”

However, it hit me suddenly that while I can’t always have a vacation from reality, I can approach reality differently.

I don’t have to have a hectic frame of mind or a rushed life – instead, there is a peace and a comfort I can borrow from that is readily available.

Christ told us he left behind this gift and it is ripe for the taking.

In John 14:27, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

It’s not always easy to accept, and it’s very difficult to accomplish, but it can be done.

I feel like I write about this concept often, in between the hustle and bustle of my life – but it must be something I haven’t quite mastered yet. I keep coming back to it. I’ll have days and weeks where I’ll feel hopelessly unorganized and baffled by my mere existence, but then there are quiet moments of sweet clarity when everything seems to come into focus.

I think in those moments, I am accepting the peace and comfort Christ left behind while realizing that it is OK to do so.

In a culture that tells us to “Go, go, go!” we sometimes have to “Stop, stop, stop.”

In this way, we can take the lazy days of summer and keep them in our hearts as an oasis against the cold, rushing wind of winter.

We can relax into our every day lives, accepting with warmth and full surrender the joy and mercy we were meant for.

I suppose, knowing this, I can let go of the day dreams of summer, and face the winter unafraid.

For, as you know, I’ll have a little bit of summer resting right in my heart.