Living on the Wild Side

Say among the nations: The LORD is king. // Psalm 96:10

Flailing my arms with cheerful four-year-old abandon and twirling in my socked feet and soft nightgown, I slid into the center of my grandparents’ tiled foyer and struck a dramatic pose in front of the grand staircase. My family stood in the wings on either side, acting every bit the appreciative audience with oohs and aahs aplenty, and shining makeshift spotlights (read: flashlights) on my sister and me as we belted out the final line of our favorite song:

“Oh, I just can’t waiiiiit to be kiiiiiiing!!”

This little ditty from The Lion King shaped much of my earliest imaginings about adulthood. Not that I ever thought I would turn into a lion, but I was allured by the promise of someday living on the, ahem, wild side, doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted—you know, like having ice cream for dinner or staying up past my bedtime. 

It didn’t take me long to realize that growing up and gaining independence also involves a lot of baffling tasks, frenetic worry, and not-so-fun obligations—or that satisfying my own whims can sometimes lead to stomach aches and sleep deprivation. These days I find myself longing for someone else to be “in charge” of my life. I take great comfort in today’s Responsorial Psalm, delivered in the wake of last Sunday’s Solemnity of Christ the King, which declares: “The LORD is king” (Psalm 96:10).

The Lord is King. Not me. And while He respects my freedom and will never force me to follow His commands, it is only in submitting myself to them that I find the fullness of joy and peace, that I will “be glad” and “rejoice,” along with the rest of creation (see Psalm 96:11-12). 

Sister, I invite you to prepare for the new Church year coming up on Sunday with a “new year’s resolution”: what in your life are you struggling to place under the Lord’s Kingship? Can you relax your grip on it? Nothing is wilder or more wonderful than seeing what the Lord will do with what we surrender to Him.