There are times when we all make mistakes. Some seem more serious than others. Sometimes a thoughtful "I'm sorry," graciously offered and accepted, is all that is needed to correct a situation. At other times a mistake may seem to have deeper, even tragic ramifications. Our response to a mistake, whether minor or serious, is important because it often determines how easily or effectively the mistake is corrected.

Christian Science shows us how to correct mistakes by turning to God in prayer. This prayer is based on a scientific understanding of God and the all-harmonious universe He creates, as the following experience illustrates.

A Christian Scientist was in a difficult office situation. There was an office rumor that she was about to be fired. In addition, her supervisor was making difficult demands on her, and she felt inadequate and incapable of fulfilling all that was being required of her. In the midst of this turmoil, she made a critical mistake that she felt would surely cost her the job. She decided to call a Christian Science practitioner for help through prayer. The practitioner suggested that the woman study Mrs. Eddy's article "Rectifications" in Unity of Good, which explains specific steps that can be taken through prayer in order to correct mistakes.

As the woman studied the article, she realized that she did not have to be afraid of the mistake or its consequences. Because God is good, He is the creator of good only. He does not create or sanction evil; therefore it is powerless in His all-presence. Secondly, she realized that she must change her attitude toward her supervisor. The Bible explains God's nature as Love. Love's allness, when expressed in our lives, destroys discord and restores harmony. She realized that she did not have to dislike or be afraid of her supervisor. She could strive to reflect God's love and recognize His harmony present in all her relationships at work.

As the woman's thought was calmed through prayer, she was able to take the necessary steps quickly and confidently to correct the mistake. She was then able to inform her supervisor of the mistake and how it had been rectified. To their surprise, they discovered that the supervisor also had made a similar mistake but was unaware that she had done so. The supervisor was extremely grateful that the woman knew exactly how to correct the mistake, thus saving everyone, including the firm, from multiple inaccuracies, public embarrassment, and possible legal complications.

Later, as it turned out, the office rumors were right, and the woman was informed that she would be let go, along with her entire division. However, within a short time she was notified that the firm had changed their decision in her case, and she would be retained. Her supervisor explained that she had shown such poise and intelligence in quickly and capably gathering all the information to correct a significant mistake that they felt she was an extremely valuable employee. Through prayer the situation had been so thoroughly reversed that the woman was able to remain and progress in her position.

Prayer can help anyone turn from a limited and mortal view of creation, where mistakes seem commonplace, to the glorious view of spiritual creation, where man and the universe are created, established, and maintained by God in unerring perfection. The Bible assures us that God created man in His image, as His likeness. In writing of the concept of man created spiritually, Mrs. Eddy comments in Miscellaneous Writings, "The Scriptures inform us that man was made in the image and likeness of God. I commend the Icelandic translation: 'He created man in the image and likeness of Mind, in the image and likeness of Mind created He him.' "

From this it follows that man is not a physical personality subject to material limitations and penalized by human errors, as the erring physical senses report. He is, in reality, a spiritual idea, the full expression of Mind. He has, as the image of Mind, unlimited capabilities and the power of expressing them. Divine Mind exists at the standpoint of perfection. It neither makes mistakes nor is subject to them. It includes precision, accuracy, wisdom, and intelligence. Man, created spiritually, expresses these qualities. He is not subject to mortal discords, mediocrity, and failures. In her book Science and Health Mrs. Eddy explains man's eternal relationship to God and says: "Man is the expression of God's being. If there ever was a moment when man did not express the divine perfection, then there was a moment when man did not express God, and consequently a time when Deity was unexpressed—that is, without entity."

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ Jesus talks about the perfectibility of man and directly relates it to God's perfection. In a discourse about God's impartial love, which flows freely to all, Jesus said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." He showed that the basis of all perfection wasn't to be found in the human realm but in the divine, in the presence of God's infinite love. Man's perfection exists and is maintained in his spiritual relationship to God. To understand this lifts the burden from anyone expecting human perfection in the actions of himself or others. It enables people to look to God as the source of perfection and to man's spiritual identity as the expression of God's abiding qualities of love, intelligence, and wisdom.

As we gain a clearer understanding of man's immutable unity with God, we become more patient and tolerant of ourselves and others. We learn not to be angry, disappointed, or frustrated when we or someone we know falls short of human excellence. Instead, we pray to be delivered from a limited view of ourselves or others as imperfect mortals subject to human shortcomings. We pray to recognize God's love as ever present and expressed by His image, man. As we do this, we find mistakes more easily reversed and corrected because we see God's perfection expressed as harmony in our daily affairs. In other words, our harmony is directly related to how freely we recognize and express His impartial love.

So we need not be fearful or despair if we have made an honest mistake. Prayer can reverse discord by replacing the false evidence of human existence with the knowledge of man as the image of the ever-present divine Mind. God's perfection is an ever-present reality. We find this perfection increasingly evident in our lives in proportion as we recognize and express His impartial love. Heartfelt prayer unites man with the power and presence of God, where mistakes are reversed to the satisfaction and blessing of everyone concerned.