The Power of Joel's Words! by Kaylah

The Power of Joel's Words! by Kaylah - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Joel Osteen’s “Break Out!” gives the most inspiring and compassionate advice to all, anyone that is going through a difficult time should definitely read this book. It is especially made for those who wish to develop a closer relationship with God, and have a better understanding with Him. I personally recommend this book to students in high school. That was the time where I started reading Joel’s books, and because of this I was able to walk into college with a positive and faithful attitude. I chose this book because at one point throughout my high school years I was starting to feel a bit lost, I had nobody to turn to for advice or guidance in my life.

It was not until my sophomore year where I had met two amazing girls, whom I still remain best friends and go to college with. One is a Christian named Jazmin, and the other one is Catholic, whose name is Amanda. Two of them were very close to God, so they loved reading Joel’s books. After Christmas break passed, my Catholic friend, Amanda, had given Jazmin and I the book “Break Out!” as a late Christmas present. At first, it didn’t interest me much. I was at such a gloomy point in my life, I did not have much of a positive mentality, but I hadn’t realized that this book was what was going to change that about me for good. This book was filled with the most positive sentences, “We all face challenges. It's not the size of the problem that's important, it's our perception of that problem.” It was quotes like this that not only caught my eye, but also my heart. As I read one page after another, I felt as if I were making great progress with my mentality. I could finally smile in the morning, even after a bad day, I knew that it was meant to happen because God was preparing me for a great day. “You are not defined as your past. You are prepared by your past.”

It was up until my very first heartbreak where I had stopped reading the book. It was as if I had lost all faith in my love life, my whole world felt like it was going to collapse at any second. I realized that I had loved somebody who never really did love me back, since they only loved somebody else. No one is quite sure why God puts people like this into our lives, and I feel that this is one of the main problems on why most high school kids start dropping their grades. Not only did this happen, but a friend of mine’s mother had passed away due to a heart attack. I know this friend and her family very well, her mother was very sweet to me. This nearly cut my heart into pieces, I could never imagine how I would feel if one of my parents passed away. As soon as I got home I started to cry, more than I ever had in my life. After hours had gone by, I lied in my room until the sun went down. I then decided to pick up my book and surprisingly, I read something that connected directly with what I had been going through, “You may not see anything happening, but you can be assured Almighty God not only is aware but He also is at work. He already has the solution.”

Everyone should know that God works in mysterious ways. He is a supernatural God, the doctors could prove that a person will die within a week, but after praying day after day, the patient will turn out to live for another ten years! I truly believe that this book will help all kids, especially in such a drama filled life such as high school. I hope one day to give “Break Out!” to my kids when they’re in high school. It has improved my life beyond what I could have ever imagined, and I hope it can change many others’ lives, as well.