This summer is flying by way too fast! It’s already July!

Not to long ago, I kept saying that my brother will be here for just over two months and now we are down to almost one month left. We have been having so much fun. He is constantly making me laugh. We still have a month to go and yet I’m already getting sad that he will be leaving in a few weeks.

Last night after the evening service at church, we all gathered onto the soccer field to watch some fireworks and enjoy some watermelon and fellowship. As I sat there with my head tilted toward the sky, I couldn’t help but savor the moment with friends and family. Right now, things may seem uncertain. Right now, I could dwell on the fact that in just over a month my brother will fly home and I probably won’t see him until Christmas. I could dwell on the rain or horrible traffic. Dwelling on any of those things won’t do me any good.

It’s the start of a new week. The sun is shining. In the USA, we have tomorrow off from work to celebrate Independence Day. Although many might have preferred having Monday off, a day off is a day off no matter what day of the week it is.

After work on Friday, my brother and I take off for Florida and drive back on Sunday. It will be a super quick trip. We have already started preparing and packing. I’m trying not to get caught up in all that needs to be done, but taking it moment by moment. Heading to the beach and seeing family that we haven’t seen in a while will hopefully make us stop and enjoy the now. I feel like the beach is the perfect place to stop, breathe in the fresh salty air and relish the moment.

It can be so easy to get caught up in the moment. Last night as the fireworks began, my friends and I took out our phones to capture the beautiful display. After taking a couple of photos and a video, I stopped and put my phone down for the rest of the firework display. I could have tried to catch it all on video, but I knew to truly enjoy the moment the phone needed to be out of my hands. It is fun to get the opportunity to travel and take thousands of pictures of  where we are, but to truly take in the sights using just our eyes is something to cherish.

We live in such a social media driven culture that hardly stops for anyone. We don’t have to take a picture of every single meal that we eat or every sunset we see.

When the opportunity comes to enjoy a delicious meal surrounded by those we love, we don’t have to immediately try and think of how we could catch it on camera. Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to capture the moment with a picture once and a while.

We only have this one life. We will never have the same moment twice.

So, on this Monday, let’s stop and enjoy the now.

Photo cred: http://mindfuldragon.com/2016/04/