There is nothing wrong with recalling the past and being grateful for the good experienced and the lessons learned. But what if regrets about the choices we’ve made and how we may have messed up haunt us like recurring bad dreams? Can we break free from ruminating over the could-haves, should-haves, and shouldn’t-haves that darken our days and often prevent us from moving forward? 

Yes! Christian Science explains that mortal history does not originate in God, so it has no reality, substance, or power. “It is well to know, dear reader,” writes Mary Baker Eddy, “that our material, mortal history is but the record of dreams, not of man’s real existence, and the dream has no place in the Science of being.” She adds, “The human history needs to be revised, and the material record expunged” (Retrospection and Introspection, pp. 21–22). 

So how do we expunge the material record? Saul, whose actions resulted in the imprisonment and even death of early Christians, shows us how much a life can be transformed through turning to God. After his conversion to Christianity, Saul, later known as the Apostle Paul, didn’t get trapped in self-condemnation over his mistakes—deeply serious as they were—which could have kept him from following Christ and doing tremendous good. Instead, he made a complete turnaround and moved forward devotedly in service to God.