Dear St. Philip parishioners, Father Barker’s recent Daily Mass Reflection alerted us to be aware of DRIFT in our daily lives.  Another alert was to recognize that small things always lead to greater things.  Am I less patient, more sarcastic (especially to those closest to me), more self-centered, than a year ago? That first venial sin, over months or years, can lead to greater wrong things.  It is so easy to justify: “it’s not so bad, not even wrong really, just a ‘little imperfect’.”  Yes, deviation from expected or ideal behavior, is DRIFT. 
 
Matthew gives us good advice; stay “on the straight and narrow.”  And James cautions of being lured by our desires.
"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”   ( Mt7: 13-14)
“. . but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.   Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.”  (James 1: 14-15) umich.edu
 
Driving on I-45 in H-Town rush hour, it is essential to “stay in your lane,” and not DRIFT into danger.   New cars feature lane departure warning systems, designed to warn the driver when the vehicle begins to DRIFT. They detect even small values of DRIFT and can immediately induce a steering input to correct direction.  Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of “computer take the wheel,” in our daily lives we could have “Jesus take the wheel” as the country song lyrics suggest? 
 
As an engineer, “DRIFT is DEVIATION from an expected or desired outcome caused by control instability.”  In GM Manufacturing, we had routine inspection sampling of critical dimensions to assure that ALL parts were within designed ranges.  When DRIFT in the specification began appearing, alarms would alert quality control to IMMEDIATELY re-calibrate the process.  Without ongoing inspection, thousands of “scrap” components could be installed in cars with unsafe or unreliable results.  (How much “scrap” do we generate by accepting DRIFT in our behavior?)
 
In the past, we vacationed on a small cruiser in Puget Sound, using Navigation Aids.  We carefully pre-plotted speed and compass headings towards landmarks (lighthouse, red/green buoys, etc.). It was not uncommon, after about one hour, to realize that a combination of ocean current, compass, and speed DRIFT (unstable control!) led us frighteningly far from our expected destination.  (How many times to we notice how far we have drifted from The Best Version of Ourselves?)
 
So it is with life!  After months/years of DRIFT, we all-to-often find ourselves examining our conscience for Reconciliation, thinking to ourselves, as St. Hildegard of Bingen, Germany (1098-1179) wrote: “Where am I?  How did I get here?  Whom can I ask to comfort me?  Dear God, what will become of me?” 
 
I seem to have a “bottom 5” set of behaviors that I just can’t seem to eliminate from my life.  My pledge is to work on these by not letting myself DRIFT into complacency and self-justification, but to re-calibrate, say “it’s NOT OK,” and to stop deviating from what I know to be righteous. 
 
It seems so simple, just not easy!  With diligence, maybe I will someday be able “to enter by the narrow gate.”
Sincerely in Christ, Tim Logsdon
 
 
S&T 6/30/2019