By Caroline Bougher

When I imagined myself graduating college, I envisioned landing a dream public relations job in Washington D.C., living in an apartment in the city and applying the knowledge I’ve learned over the past four years into the start of my career. Unfortunately like everyone else, COVID-19 drastically changed these circumstances. Instead, I was forced to finish my degree and internship at Delight Ministries from home, and begin a long season of applying for jobs and waiting.

I became saved during my senior year of high school and college led me to grow even closer to God. However I have always struggled with putting God first in my life. Spending time in prayer and in the Bible was always something in the back burner of my brain. Once I moved back home, I knew quarantine was going to be a tough and transformative season, and made it a priority to grow closer to the Lord and put Him first. I set up a corner in my room as my “prayer corner” and dove into devotionals each morning. I began to enjoy the stillness of the season and wanted to help others find the peace during a crazy time.

During college I had written a blog that discussed my faith, advice and trials I went through, and published a devotional story for Delight Ministries. Many people had come up to me and told me these stories have affected them in some way, that I wanted to grow my blog even further and help others during this season. 

During quarantine, I decided to create an Instagram page, @createdbycare_, that encouraged college and young adult women that they are cared for by Christ and have a purpose. I started off by creating graphics on InDesign with motivational words and scripture aimed at bringing people closer to God. I ended up writing a few more blog posts, created a Pinterest account, and an Etsy page where I sold mugs that said “created for a purpose”! 

However, over time I felt burned out. I had put in so much effort and wasn’t getting as many results as I had hoped for. I fell into the bad habit of spending time in my prayer corner with God and posting about what I had read that day. I was comparing myself to other Christian bloggers and was only posting to get content posted. My heart wasn’t in it anymore and I abruptly took a break from my account.

 While I’m not completely done with @createdbycare_, I’ve learned that it takes time to effectively grow a brand. Even though I was using the tactics I learned in my public relations classes, I wasn’t seeing overnight growth and felt burned out. Ultimately I think it’s because I was doing what I thought other people wanted and was trying to grow it as fast as I could, instead of figuring out what I wanted my brand to look like. 

There are millions of opinions out there telling you what to do, but if you aren’t loving the work you’re doing you won’t feel fulfilled and can’t help others. While I’ve stepped back and shifted my focus to applying for PR jobs, I plan to return to @createdbycare_ stronger than ever with a refreshed vision and mindset to create a community where we grow with The Lord together.

Caroline Baugher is a 2020 graduate of Belmont University, where she studied both public relations and journalism. She originally hails from the great state of Virginia, and she has a strong passion for women’s ministry. She is a published blogger and has contributed to devotionals for Delight Ministries.