Our lives are fleeting. The impermanence of our triumphs and tragedies can be upsetting to some because it reveals just how inconsequential our earthly lives truly are. If the moments of our lives are like old photographs, what becomes of them once we’re gone?

No matter how hard we work, how much money we make, the awards we win, the mountains we climb, the challenges we overcome, does it really matter?

In the end, are the old photographs of our lives simply left on display in an antique store? Forgotten, ignored? Will anyone care we lived, we loved, we learned?

It can be frightening to contemplate the Final Judgment–an all-powerful Creator assessing the moral worth of our every decision. But maybe it’s more than that.

Maybe, at the end of our time in this life, we won’t be forgotten; our triumphs and tragedies will matter. Maybe the Good Shepard will sit with us and sift through that collection of old photographs. Maybe He’ll laugh with us at the funny ones, cry with us at the sad ones, and have compassion on us for our mistakes.

Maybe each photograph will be treasured by Him. Maybe our existence will be treasured by Him. Maybe we will be treasured by Him.

Maybe.