There is an episode in West Wing when it happens. Madame Secretary as well. Because of an external threat, the White House is abruptly locked down, and the twosomes and triplets of people who are forced to stay in isolation have a wide variety of reactions. Some spar. Others are thrust into confrontation from which there is no escape. A few hunker down and stop talking. 

 

The screenwriters use it as a means for digging in. CJ in West Wing pushes Donna to face the dead end aspect of her relationship with Josh. We see in the following events that Donna takes chances she might not have otherwise. Will and Toby become heated in their rivalry as writers, and cannot maneuver to their usual default of escape. In Madam Secretary Elizabeth's daughter is cooped up with a dignitary from another country who alludes to her mother's dark choices in the CIA. That conversation triggers an icy period between the McCords that hovers for weeks. 

 

But there are differences between them and all of us. We freely chose the people we are quarantined with. Well, maybe two year olds did not precisely pick their mothers. Roommates had some say, not necessarily based on abiding love as much as economic prudence. Another discrepancy is the length of time. We are in this for the long haul, whatever that turns out to be. 

 

There will be repercussions. The way we hold our jobs, and our freedom to travel, our elderly and the sweetness of a friend's face have shifted. Perhaps for most of us the effects will be far reaching, when all of this melts into the background. If the new normal even becomes normal. These months could be of paramount importance as we face our own gritty underbellies, and learn a different path than retreat. It can shove us into coming to terms with past choices and the fresh ground ahead of us. 

 

Maybe the One scripting our eternal lives knows that isolation is part of the story. Jesus was alone for forty days in the wilderness. He was hungry, and hounded by the devil. Somehow it comforts me to realize that God too was alone. He who created the heavens and the earth, felt abandoned. 

 

Maybe the emotions tumbling around my home and perhaps yours are not a surprise after all.