Mothers Creating In The Margins: An Interview with Simone Griffin

"In this sleep-deprived season that lacks morning margin, I’m redefining what it means to create."

I first met Simone through Coffee + Crumbs / Exhale, and immediately felt drawn to her. Simone is gifted and genuine, discerning and wise, but when I think of Simone, I mostly think generous. She’s generous with her time, her talent, her compassion, her encouragement. She loves others fiercely, and never hesitates to cheer other women on in their creative endeavors.

Simone was a beta reader for Create Anyway, one of ten women I corralled into giving me feedback on early drafts. Not only did she offer helpful feedback on my chapters, she also consistently sent me notes of encouragement throughout the process, dropping little texts and emails here and there that she was praying for me. Like I said: GENEROUS.

I’m so thrilled I get to share her with you today. Without further ado, here is my interview with Simone Griffin.

Simone, something I’ve always really admired about you is the way you seem to effortlessly blend both your day job and your faith into your art. How has your faith background, and your experience as a counselor, influenced your writing over the years?

My faith and my focus on mental health combined are my “why”—they are essentially the foundation for everything I write. Writing has been a healthy way for me to process hard things, both personally and professionally.

When I was in high school, I was diagnosed with a debilitating anxiety disorder. Going to therapy and growing deeper in my faith inspired me to use my creative gifts to encourage others. At 17 years old, I started a weekly devotional text called “Simone’s Sunday Inspiration.” I sent it out faithfully to all of my friends and family. (This was pre-Instagram, so my texts were comparable to my present day Instagram captions. 😂).

Between that time and now, I experienced more trials that tested both my faith and my mental health, including the loss of close loved ones. Nowadays, my writing looks a little different, but the heart behind it remains the same. I merge my personal and professional experiences and craft them into words that make other women feel seen. I hope to never get away from that. Even in my work as a counselor, I use my words to uplift and inspire. 

Between your day job and two young kiddos, how are you “creating anyway” these days?

Honestly, I had grand plans to be super disciplined with my morning quiet time/writing time this year. And I was doing pretty darn good at honoring this commitment (if I do say so myself) ... until a monster arrived in the form of a two-year-old sleep regression. My 2.5 year-old started waking multiple times a night and rising to start her day between 4 and 5am. In this sleep-deprived season that lacks morning margin, I’m redefining what it means to create. 

I used to be very focused on end products—like writing an article and seeing it published on a faith or motherhood blog. Currently, I’m learning to be content with something as simple as jotting down notes in my phone to capture the thoughts, words and moments I don’t want to forget. Some of the notes haven’t formed a coherent thought for a blog or newsletter (and maybe they never will). But I always encourage others to celebrate small successes, so I’m trying to apply that advice to my own life.

Sometimes I think when women hear “creativity”—their mind immediately goes to painting, or scrapbooking, or crafts. I love to zoom out and expand on what constitutes creativity, and one area I really see your creative gifts shine is through hospitality. From the way your home is decorated, to the parties and events you plan, you’re so intentional with design and aesthetics. I’m curious if you see these things as works of art, too?

There’s no doubt that creativity shows up in multiple facets of my life. I try to embrace pretty much everything as an opportunity for creative expression—hosting lovely baby showers, throwing elaborate birthday parties, creating beautiful tablescapes, making DIY costumes for Halloween—all of it counts! I used to have an Etsy shop to sell my calligraphy, but now I use those skills to create artwork for my kids’ rooms, holiday crafts, wedding signs, birthday boards and other customized pieces for friends and family.

Lately, the most helpful thing inspiring my creativity has been my commitment to being a lifelong learner. During one of my counseling lessons this year, I taught students some brain science as it relates to growth mindset and goal setting. Did you know our brains actually form new networks and pathways every time we learn something new? And those networks become stronger with practice? After teaching students about this, I decided to be more intentional about my personal growth in a variety of creative areas. 

For example, this year, I’m learning as much as I can about homemaking. I’ve been watching Youtube videos and reading books about hospitality. I attended a DIY nontoxic cleaner class at my local library. I’m taking my creativity in the kitchen to the next level by expanding my recipes and my palette. I’m diving into the art of building charcuterie boards, and dabbling in wine tasting. On the surface, these things may not seem like creating. But creativity at its core is all about exploring new ideas and thinking outside of the box. I was recently in a creative drought, and feeling stuck with my writing. So challenging myself to learn other new skills and finding creative outlets elsewhere is revitalizing me. It’s also planting seeds for future creativity. 

You and I are both type 3’s on the Enneagram. I’d love to know: how does your unique personality type affect your creative endeavors—for better and for worse?

Oh man! I could talk for days about how being a Type 3 is a blessing and a curse. But I’ll keep it simple. I’ve found that Type 3’s are most susceptible to burnout. We dream big. So when we realize we’ve overestimated our capacity, we begin to spiral and we crash big, too. With this in mind, I’ve been trying to be proactive instead of reactive. What does this look like? It’s doing the uncomfortable work of questioning my own motives before adding something else to my plate. “Is the thing I’m saying yes to life-giving, or am I doing it to impress or please others?” Ouch. It’s a tough but necessary inner dialogue for people who are wired the way that we are! 

Do you have any encouragement for the mom reading this, who desperately wants to create, but can’t figure out how to start?

Pray about it. Sometimes I mistake creative droughts as an unworthy thing that’s not important enough to bring to God in prayer. But He’s the God of big and small things. Time and time again, I go back to these refreshing words in Philippians 4:6:

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

God welcomes us to bring everything and lay it at his feet. So instead of spending time wallowing over our failed writing expectations, we can turn to prayer and supplication. Mamas and creatives—He put this gift and desire in our hearts. If we believe He made us with intention, we must also believe that every part of our being matters to Him. God didn’t give us creative gifts for them to lie dormant. He wants to use our gifts for the greater good. Pray and watch Him work, sisters! My prayer lately has been, “God reignite my creativity. Use my words, carry them to the people who need them most, and allow them to communicate your love and light.”

Simone Griffin is a South Carolina native doing life in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. As wife and mother of two toddlers, she spends her days pouring into her household, serving faithfully in her local church and inspiring youth in her job as a school counselor. Her heart rejoices over a warm cup of coffee + writing, calligraphy, decorating and any other activity that works her creative muscles. She is the author of Glimmers of Hope: A Devotional Workbook for Navigating the Struggles of Womanhood with Grace. You can find glimpses of her life and words over on Instagram (@sincerelysimoneg). 

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If you enjoyed this interview, you’d probably love my new book, Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood, available for pre-order now! ❤️

Want to read more interviews like this? Here’s my interview with Callie Feyen, and my interview with Katie Blackburn.