In Heart of Flesh's sixth issue, there are a multitude of themes to explore. In these pages you’ll find an exploration of doubt, faith, awe, reverence, and a desire to seek God, but also a common focus on relationships—the various interplays between people, nature, and the God who made them. Writers speak about seeing God reflected in loved ones, and experiencing nostalgia for those now gone or slipping away, who once emanated Christ’s unconditional love. They talk about an ache for knowing God Himself—experiencing a hole where a relationship once existed or never was there to begin with. In their words they convey a longing to draw closer to Jesus, to find evidence of Him in the natural world, to rest in His arms in life’s darker moments. Others express the frustration in attempting to shake the ones around us who can’t see—to wake them up to His mercy and grace. These interactions are teased out through poetry, prose, and art, while presenting the contrast between what is in front of our eyes and what remains unseen, swirling around us in untouchable significance.

You’ll also find bulgy monsters, clones, “Jesus lice,” and a talking fox.

Yet somehow all these unique imaginations pull together as different pieces of the same picture of God’s unfathomable love.

I truly believe there is something in this issue for everybody, no matter your beliefs or opinions about the Creator of the world. I hope you read with an open mind, and that you allow these different pieces to speak their way into your life.