Sun's Challenge

Difficulty having children is one of the greatest personal and marital challenges. Sun's story may be unique on the island but not unique to humankind. Too many women over the ages have struggled to become pregnant only to have it kill them. We live in a time isolated from that kind of reality.

To some degree, we expect medicine to protect us from infertility and miscarriages. Juliet is a symbol that although sometimes medicine can make a difference, we cannot place our faith in it totally. We further isolate ourselves by our silence. For instance, somewhere between 20-50% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. The vast majority of them occur before the woman is even aware that she is pregnant. Of the women who miscarry once about 20% go on to have known miscarriages again. About 5.3 million Americans are affected by infertility. That means that probably all of us know several people who have experienced miscarriages and/or infertility if we have not been affected ourselves. (Statistics drawn from allaboutlifechallenges.com and pregnancy.about.com.)

So why don't we talk about these things? Several on this blog have already opened up about their struggles. We thank them for their trust in us. Would anyone like to share their story in more detail or for the first time? What struggles did you have or watch someone close to you have? What was comforting/encouraging? What difficulties remain?

Lose/Lose? Win/Lose? Win/Win?

Abraham, Isaac, Moriah, (Genesis 22), Jacob, Benjamin, Ruth, Naomi, David (Desmond's Middle Name), sacrifice, provision, tests of faith, providence, free will, etc. My head is swimming with ideas for this blog!

However, based on the episode's title and they way the plot played out, I think the most poignant question to ask in this forum is: Is there such a thing as a "Catch-22" situation where an individual is faced with the impossible task of accomplishing two actions which depend on each other? Many of us just assume that "Catch-22" is a law of nature (i.e. I need experience to get a job, but I need a job to get experience) but is that too simple of a solution?

After reviewing the plots and themes of Joseph Heller's book, I found that, in Catch-22, the main character comes to realize that "Catch-22", a supposed military rule, does not actually exist. He discovers that the powers that be claim it does, and the world believes it does, and the result is that it has potent effects on all who submit to its rule.

Have you been faced with "Catch-22" situations in real life? What was the result? After facing a supposed "Catch-22" did you come to the conclusion that there actually is another way out of the no-win situation?

LOST Thoughts For The SOTL Blog

Hey gang, please accept my apologies for being M.I.A. lately. Here are some thoughts that will hopefully spur observations and reactions. I plan on staying more consistent as the season comes to a close...

THE MAN FROM TALLAHASSEE:
Locke: You're a hypocrite...a Pharisee

A major theme in the Gospels (first four books) of the New Testament is the opposition between law and love. Accordingly, the New Testament presents the Pharisees as obsessed with man-made rules (especially concerning purity) whereas Jesus is more concerned with God’s love; the Pharisees scorn sinners whereas Jesus seeks them out. Because of the New Testament's frequent depictions of Pharisees as self-righteous rule-followers, the word "pharisee" (and its derivatives: "pharisaical", etc.) has come into semi-common usage in English to describe a hypocritical and arrogant person who places the letter of the law above its spirit.

Locke's simple accustion implies that the Others have taken for granted the deeper and truer "faith-oriented" aspects of the island's power in exchange for a more empirical approach. As much as I've been annoyed by John's actions as of late I do have to acknowledge that he is walking and Ben is still in a wheelchair. May we never cripple ourselves by living our lives like the Others. What does it mean for you to "walk by faith" and not by sight?

EXPOSE:
Greed will come back to bite you. (Observation courtesy of Twinkle)

LEFT BEHIND:
Diane: You murdered him in cold blood.
Kate: I did it for you.
Diane: No. What you did, you did for yourself.

I love it. Have you ever been caught in your own self deception? Have you ever had a selfless deed exposed as selfish? Here's the real question I had from this episode...If Kate really killed Wayne for herself and not Diane, what was beneath that motive?

ONE OF US:
I believe that Juliet is truly "one of us". She is a civilian trapped on an island, longing to escape. However, she is not simply trapped. She is bound to the island in a way. She is also "one of them." Juliet embodies the dualism of Saint and Sinner. Don't we all have a little bit of both in us? She is a character in conflict with herself. I believe she wants so badly to be like Jack but she has sold her soul to Ben and her loyalty remains with him because she has seen his power at work. Reminds me of Romans 7:21 "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." All of us are trapped in this Saint & Sinner dynamic...Where do you have loyalties to the sinner side of you that are raging against your inclination to be a saint?