Before I became a Christian, I used to joke that I’ll know I’ve “made it” in this world when I finally get a job where I’m not asked to a clean toilet. Most jobs I’d had up until that point occasionally involved the not-so-glamorous task of cleaning a toilet that had hit emergency status in the restrooms. I always did this job with a proud, ungrateful heart, thinking the whole time of how this duty was definitely beneath me. It wasn’t part of my job description to clean up the nastiness left by strangers. I would never give it my best effort, mostly out of spite for being asked to do it in the first place.
Well, it turns out I was a bit of a jerk before Jesus came into my life, and He reminds me everyday that the pedestal I sometimes put myself on is laughable. While I thought I was too good to clean a toilet, the God who created our vast and incredible universe humbled himself to become a mere human. Then guess what he did? He washed dirty feet. He put his hands on people rotting from contagious diseases. He threw himself into the muck of humanity, and became a servant. Then he rose from the dead and waited for us to ask him to clean the clogged toilet bowl that is our souls, and when we did, he made us new again. He truly is above this work, and yet he did it and continues to do it. Not with a proud and bitter heart, but out of love, and with love.
That being said, rest assured, Issue Two has no mention of literally cleaning toilets. It does, however, show the grime on the souls of human beings. It shows the desperation of the human condition, and the awe of a supreme God being thrust into that condition. It shows our fascination with the physical and spiritual world, with good and evil, with angels and demons. It shows needling doubt and mustard seeds of faith. And, most importantly, it shows hope generated through a humble heart.
In these pages, I hope you get a glimpse of the servant King, and I pray you’ll witness both his life-altering intensity and profound humility through the words, creations, questions, doubts, and faith of our wonderful contributors, both believers and non-believers from all over the world, and from all walks of life.
Thank you for reading!
Editor
Veronica McDonald is a writer, poet, artist, and editor/founder of Heart of Flesh Literary Journal. Her work has appeared in Inwood Indiana Press, Jersey Devil Press, Five on the Fifth, and Gingerbread House Literary Magazine, among others. She became a born-again Christian in July 2016 when Jesus saved her from anxiety, depression, and a nihilistic worldview. Find her at VeronicaMcDonald.com.
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