Did you know that studies show that toddlers who wear cloth underwear tend to potty train faster than those that wear disposable pull-ups?
I have a two year-old now, and we’re in the middle of potty training. And 9 times out of 10, we have cloth on him. Because we’re ready to be done with this stage!
Do you know why children who wear cloth underwear train so much faster?
Because when they go to the bathroom, they feel the discomfort. It’s not immediately wicked away by a disposable diaper. They feel the same discomfort you’d feel if you wet your pants right now.
It’s not a pleasant feeling.
Discomfort is a great motivator
Discomfort is a great motivator for a child to not pee their pants. Because they instantly feel the discomfort, and until someone changes their pants, they remain in that discomfort.
It’s as if part of their growth comes through pain. And part of their immaturity is allowed to hang around if they are never exposed to that difficulty. In other words, their difficulty is wasted (no pun intended) because they don’t feel it.
Don’t Waste the Pain
The exact same thing can happen in our lives.
Difficulties have the chance to grow us. To help us take steps of faith towards God. Or, we can move so quickly past them that we waste them.
If you never feel the sting of defeat, the pain of losing someone you love, the failure of your plans, the loss of a job, a bad decision, rejection, heartache, or just the dark side of the soul…then you can’t grow through the pain. Difficulty incubates growth.
Some of the greatest times of growth in my life have come on the heels of great failure.
I don’t know what you’re going through right now. But I know something about your struggles. You can act like the pain’s not there.
Or you can acknowledge it, feel it, invite others into it, and grow through it.
God allows difficulties to fall on us because He’s interested in our growth. Because without pain, growth ekes.
Don’t waste pain. Let God use it for good.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
