A beautiful home, nice cars, all the material markers of a successful Iranian family – Roya* felt that she and her husband had finally made it.

But then disaster struck when her husband unexpectedly lost his lucrative job and there were no savings to fall back on. They were left bankrupt and lost their lovely home. Almost all their remaining possessions went to charities or friends, and the couple moved in with family.

Depression, anxiety, hopelessness took over Roya’s life. “Sometimes I even thought of suicide,” she recalls.

It was about this time, however, that Roya began listening to Women of Hope. She learned that Jesus Christ had died on the cross to forgive her sins, and she confessed him as Lord.

“I soon learned that the material things I loved so much weren’t the most important things in life,” she says. “God showed me where we had gotten off track.” 

Jesus’ words reoriented her life: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. ... But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

Roya and her husband asked God to forgive them for their pride and greed. Over the next years, they rebuilt their financial lives but made it a point to seek God’s will first.

“We learned to prioritize relationships, first with God and then with my spouse, and finally with friends. And all these things I owe Women of Hope.”

* Not her real name.