I wrote this one about a week ago as well, along with "Distress Call". I've used the metaphor "blink" to represent letting yourself be dragged back to the darkness. Metaphorically, when we close our eyes, we see the darkness behind our eyelids, or the dark side of us. And for some reason, although we would prefer it wouldn't be there, that dark side of us is attracted to it. I've used the ocean to represent our emotion several times before, to show how vast our thoughts can be. When I let my sinful nature take control of me, I turn to these idols, or islands, rather than God, letting these trials and suffering (the winds and the waves) overcome me rather than relying on God as my strength.  The islands represent me taking it upon my own self to deal with my emotion. I go back to writing to put my trust and hope in this stronghold, or the islands. I call them my wrists, because I write to help me deal with the pain, and that can be dangerous when I do that rather than handing it over to God. I'm learning how important it is to hold onto truth and lean on God's wisdom and strength. As Paul says in the book of Romans, there are two laws at work within me: the law of the Spirit and the law of sin and death; I must choose which one to be a slave to—either I go back to the nature of sin and death, or I deny myself and my own desires to put God in His rightful place in my life and rely on His Spirit to take hold of my heart and transform me. I am weak, and in my weakness I must depend on the Spirit to guide me and overcome the temptation to revert back to or bow down to my sinful nature. (Read Romans 7:7-25)

I wrote this, I don't know, a week ago I think, and I've been critiquing it every now and then. When I was at church, listening to the lesson about God being with us in the wilderness, the speaker said, "God's address is at the end of the rope," meaning that you only experience complete peace, joy, and hope once you let go of these strongholds and admit to God that you have nothing and you sincerely need Him. I'm reaching that point now, and I'm learning even more about how much I need my Lord to have control of my life. At some point, when we're in this darkness and we're going through these struggles, you realize something's not right in your life. As we walk through our faith, God will put us through trials to realize that we need to go even deeper in our faith, that we need to trust Him even more if we're going to remain faithful. It's like math class—each year, you add on to what you already know; each season of life, you deepen your faith even further. And at this time, you realize you have nothing besides God—no stronghold will sustain you, only God.

In Genesis 19, God destroys the two cities of ***** and Gomorrah because of their sin and orders only Lot and his family to leave the city. They are instructed not turn back to look at the cities. Lot's wife turned around, clinging to the past. When God deals with our past and our sinful nature, He instructs us to be willing to turn completely away and not to hold onto any fear, doubt, or disobedience. "Hometown" represents doubts, fears, and ultimately not putting my complete trust in God—the place where I'm coming from. I believe that's why I'm going through this 'season of wilderness'. I'm tempted to look back after trusting God to throw off my sinful nature and trust in His Spirit. God's still working on me to let go of my desires and align my heart with His, and He's still 'hiding His face' to test and build my faith.

Lately, I've been learning through reading the Bible and praying about how to rejoice through the struggles. Even as we go through these dark times, we're able to praise the Lord for what he has done for us and for His faithfulness; He promises His truths remain the same, even in the valleys of life. I am thankful for what I've gone through, and how it has allowed me to help others. It seems like every time I go through something, I have been able to talk to several other people who are going through the same thing and help them out. That gives me joy as I go through the darkness, being able to pour into others, and I rejoice in the Lord for using me as His servant and the peace He grants through the pain.