Did you ever think you would finish growing up some day?

Growth is a continual process throughout our lives.

Original Art by Gina Welds Hulse

There is a Chinese Proverb that says, “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."

Adversity is a given, but growth is optional.  

When a child is born we expect that child to continue growing throughout his or her life, right?  However, the growth is not just physical.  It's also emotional.

I have always been a person that was very aware of my personal growth.

I always set goals for myself & seemed to manage to reach those goals in a certain amount of time. When lupus struck a few years ago, it really took a toll on my body, and all the goals that I had set had to take a back seat...at least for a while.

Some days as I lay in bed riddled with pain, I often wonder if I will ever be able to fulfill any goals of personal growth again! 2016 was the toughest year for many reasons.  Having gone through 5 surgeries, and several setbacks, I really thought that I needed to stop "dreaming" or setting goals, but it would have gone against what  I had been telling all those who followed my lupus page and had been inspired by my own personal struggles with chronic illness. 

Just to be clear, I'm no poster child for conquering adversity. I'll be the first to admit that there have been times when I've let adversity get the best of me.  The months following my diagnosis with chronic illness was one of those times.  I felt betrayed. 

Although I was very sick for most of 2016, I still managed to start a designing site where my art work is featured on clothing.  You can find my collection here.

                                                     Gina's VIDA Collection

I also set about putting together an art show for that year. 

Learning to overcome adversity doesn't happen during a single late night study session.

It's more like an endless tutorial we have to take over and over again.  Each time I've faced a health challenge, I've learned a little bit better how to respond the next time around. 

 A flare up of my illness for example, doesn't affect me nearly as much as it did when I was first diagnosed.  I've learned to cope better, to push through it with fortitude, and I have the knowledge that at some point it will come to an end. 

Each time adversity confronts us, it takes a slightly different approach which requires us to develop new skills and abilities. This refining of our character and path of personal growth helps us develop the resiliency we need, that I needed, to forge ahead, even while dealing with chronic illness.