My iPhone screen flashed a quick news post: a virus that had devastated China had suddenly been discovered in Washington state. Suddenly a very distant war was being fought on our soil. It was alarming and I was concerned. Something called ‘social isolation’ was being described. Large gatherings in public settings were discouraged. No hugging. No shaking of hands. Distancing. It all seemed rather curious and remote.
Refusing to let my concern distract, I remained focused on the job at hand. ‘I don’t want to think about that now — I’ll think about that tomorrow!’ My focus— helping a friend get ready to move in three days. The final steps of packing up a large house were to be completed by just a few people in a very short time. And my husband and I wanted to help in any way we could. We would simply keep ourselves a bit apart and get through a very busy couple of days of work.
Of course our work was peppered with talk of the new social distancing policies. I was surprised to learn that our church had discussed the possibility of cancelling services for this Sunday. Really? It’s THAT concerning???
Our friend’s move went well on Saturday, March 14th. It was a very long day, but a delight to be with people we loved, distancing as best we understood it. I remember saying goodbye and giving one of them a warm hug. “Woops, I guess we aren’t supposed to do that now!” We laughed and chalked it off as just so much curiosity.
The next day, church was indeed cancelled, the sermon transmitted over the church website. All worshipped from their homes. To be honest, staying home and worshipping online was a gift to us, as our bodies were screaming from the work we had accomplished in the days before. As the new week dawned, however, one by one scheduled calendar events were cancelled, leaving the last two weeks of our March calendar blotched with white-out. We were discovering the true definition of ‘social isolation’. I felt a curious mixture of joy, disappointment and disbelief. “This just doesn’t happen for nothin’!!!”