Converting to Christianity saved her from a life of pain

An ex-Muslim woman shares her story of how a vision of Jesus changed her life for the better.

Nikta, who did not provide a last name for privacy reasons, moved to the United States from Tehran, Iran as a young girl where she started to become involved in alcohol and cigarettes.

Despite growing up in a strict Islamic home, Nikta rebelled and found herself in a low spot. She was involved in New Age practices such as crystals and she also shared to The Christian Post that she experienced suicidal thoughts and anxiety.

In her college years, Nikta's mother suggested she and her sister travel back to Iran for the summer and visit family, insisting that it would make her feel better. 

"I don't want to go," Nikta recalled saying to her mother. "I really didn't want to go."

Her mother ignored her rejections and sent her and her sister to Iran anyway. 

Nikta told The Christian Post that while she was lying down in her aunt's bedroom she had a vision of Jesus. She described Jesus as having long, dark hair and was wearing a blue robe. He was standing in an old church that had stained glass windows.

"And He looked at me, and He communicated to me, 'Follow me,'" she says. "I couldn't audibly hear Him say 'Follow me,' but I know He said that."

After her dream, Nikta searched up images of Jesus on Google and found an image that looked exactly like the one she saw in her vision.

She texted her boyfriend, who was a Christian, and he said he could take her to church once she got back if she wanted to learn more about the religion.

Upon her return to her home in California, Nikta attended church with her boyfriend and eventually got baptized. 

Once her family found out that she had converted to Christianity, tension was high and Nikta experienced abuse from her father. He had yelled at her, pushed her and stomped on her head. 

"And he was saying, 'You're worthless. Who do you think you are? Because you follow Jesus, you think you're so special,'" Nikta says. 

She went on to move in with her boyfriend and his family. 

After a few years, Nikta and her boyfriend got married and they now have a child.

Nikta had reconnected with her family and even invited them to her wedding.

"They kept finding ways to reach out to me. I remember God speaking to me the day after the whole abuse happened, and He told me to forgive them," she says.

Her family does not agree with her conversion, but according to Nikta, they have stopped fighting her about it. They have opened their minds and hearts and have even attended church with Nikta occasionally. 

Nikta's story is not the first of its kind. There has been other documentation, such as FaithWire, of ex-Muslims converting religions because they had a vision of Jesus.