After Tomorrow's Promise earned a four-star Texas Rising Star rating, Kaye Boehning writes about pausing to celebrate wins before asking what's next
I have a confession to make.
I'm not always very good at celebrating.
Oh, I love a good celebration. Give me a reason to throw a party, plan an event, or recognize somebody else's accomplishments, and I'm all in.
But when it comes to my own accomplishments?
I have a tendency to say:
"That's wonderful! Now, what's next?"
And sometimes I move on so quickly that I barely take time to appreciate what just happened.
I suspect I'm not the only person who does this.
We spend weeks, months, sometimes years working toward something.
We pray about it.
We plan.
We work.
We worry.
We overcome obstacles.
And finally, it happens.
We reach the goal.
We get the promotion.
We finish the project.
We receive the recognition.
And what do we do?
We immediately start thinking about the next thing.
Sometimes we're so busy climbing the mountain that we forget to enjoy the view when we reach the top.
A Four-Star Reminder
Recently, our Main Campus at Tomorrow's Promise earned its four-star Texas Rising Star rating.
For those of you who aren't in childcare, Texas Rising Star is a quality rating system that recognizes childcare programs for meeting standards that go beyond basic licensing requirements.
Four stars is the highest rating.
And I was thrilled!
Our team had worked toward that accomplishment, and I knew how much effort had gone into it.
There were preparations, assessments, documentation, classroom improvements, and plenty of little details that had to come together.
And then we received the news.
Four stars!
What a wonderful accomplishment.
But here's what I know about myself.
Even while I was celebrating, part of my brain was already moving on.
What about the next campus?
What needs to be improved?
What happens next?
What else needs my attention?
And suddenly I realized something.
If I'm not careful, I can turn yesterday's answered prayer into today's ordinary expectation.
That's not how I want to live.
We Get Used to Our Blessings
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you could hardly think about anything else?
Maybe it was a job.
A house.
A child.
A relationship.
A business opportunity.
A chance to go back to school.
You prayed for it.
You hoped for it.
You worked toward it.
And when it finally happened, you were so grateful.
But then time passed.
The new house became the house that needed repairs.
The wonderful new job became the job with deadlines and difficult days.
The opportunity you prayed for became another responsibility on your calendar.
And the thing you once considered a blessing became something you barely noticed.
Isn't that interesting?
Sometimes the life we're complaining about contains the very things we once prayed to receive.
Now, that doesn't mean those things won't be difficult.
Blessings come with responsibilities.
Opportunities come with challenges.
And sometimes answered prayers come with an impressive amount of paperwork.
Trust me on that one.
But the challenges shouldn't cause us to forget the blessing.
Celebration Isn't Bragging
I think sometimes people hesitate to celebrate because they don't want to appear prideful.
Especially when we've been taught to be humble.
But there's a difference between taking all the credit and being grateful for what has been accomplished.
I can celebrate our four-star rating without pretending I earned it by myself.
Actually, I couldn't have earned it by myself.
There were teachers preparing classrooms.
Directors working through requirements.
People helping one another.
People learning things they didn't know before.
People doing their jobs on days when nobody was handing out awards.
That's what makes the accomplishment worth celebrating.
The best celebrations aren't always about what I accomplished. They're about what we accomplished together.
And for me, they're also an opportunity to thank God for the people, resources, and opportunities He placed along the way.
Humility doesn't require us to pretend something wonderful didn't happen.
It simply reminds us to recognize how many hands helped make it happen.
Remember When You Were Praying for What You Have Today?
I've been thinking about the early days of Tomorrow's Promise.
Twenty-nine years ago, I certainly didn't know everything that was ahead of me.
I didn't know how many children would come through our doors.
I didn't know how many teachers would become part of our story.
I didn't know all the buildings we would eventually occupy.
I didn't know about the programs, the awards, the struggles, or the opportunities.
I had a vision.
And I took the next step.
Then another.
And another.
Looking back, I can see things I couldn't possibly have understood at the beginning.
Some of the greatest blessings came disguised as challenges.
Some opportunities appeared when I wasn't looking for them.
And some of the things I thought were setbacks eventually led us somewhere better.
Every location we've had has its own story.
Every building reminds me of something God has done.
But I wonder how often I've been so focused on what still needed to happen that I failed to appreciate what had already happened.
When you're always looking ahead, it's easy to forget how far you've come.
Little Wins Matter Too
Not every victory comes with a certificate.
Sometimes the win is getting through a difficult conversation.
Sometimes it's a child finally accomplishing something they've worked on for weeks.
Sometimes it's an employee who gains confidence and begins doing something independently.
Sometimes it's making a difficult decision you've been avoiding.
Sometimes it's simply getting out of bed and trying again after a hard day.
Those victories count too.
In a Montessori classroom, we see this all the time.
A child works with a material again and again.
At first, it seems impossible.
They struggle.
They repeat.
They concentrate.
And then one day, something clicks.
The child can do it.
And if you've ever watched that moment, you know the pride on their face is something special.
The child doesn't need a trophy.
The accomplishment itself means something.
Adults aren't so different.
We need to recognize progress.
Not just perfection.
Not just the final result.
Sometimes the small victory is the evidence that we're growing.
Don't Move the Finish Line Every Time You Reach It
Here's something else I've noticed.
We set a goal.
Then we reach it.
And instead of celebrating, we immediately raise the standard.
"That's good, but next time..."
"That's wonderful, but we still need..."
"Yes, we accomplished that, but what about..."
There's nothing wrong with wanting to improve.
I'm certainly not suggesting we stop growing.
But if every accomplishment immediately becomes the starting point for another demand, we can create a life where nothing ever feels like enough.
And that's exhausting.
There is a time to evaluate.
A time to improve.
A time to set the next goal.
But there's also a time to say:
"We did it. Thank you, God. Let's enjoy this for a minute."
The next mountain will still be there tomorrow.
Your Challenge for the Week
This week, I want you to stop and think about three things.
First, what have you accomplished recently that you haven't really celebrated?
Maybe it's something big.
Maybe it's something nobody else even knows about.
Second, who helped you get there?
Have you thanked them?
Have you told them what their contribution meant?
Third, what blessing in your life has become so familiar that you've stopped noticing it?
Maybe it's your home.
Your family.
Your health.
Your work.
A friendship.
An opportunity.
Something you once prayed for.
Take a moment to recognize it.
And if somebody else deserves recognition, tell them.
Don't assume they already know.
A Lesson I'm Still Learning
I don't think I'll ever stop having ideas.
Or goals.
Or projects.
Or things I want to improve.
That's just how God made me.
And I'm grateful for that.
But I don't want to spend my whole life looking so far ahead that I miss what's happening right in front of me.
I want to get better at recognizing the moments when something we've worked toward finally happens.
I want to remember to thank the people who helped.
I want to notice the small victories along the way.
And I want to remember that not everything God does in our lives comes with a dramatic announcement.
Sometimes it's a door opening.
Sometimes it's a person showing up at exactly the right time.
Sometimes it's an opportunity we never expected.
And sometimes it's a team of people working together to earn four stars.
I'm grateful for all of those.
Final Thought
There will always be another goal.
Another challenge.
Another problem.
Another opportunity to grow.
That's part of life.
But don't let the next thing steal the joy of this thing.
Stop occasionally.
Look around.
Look backward.
Notice what has changed.
Notice how far you've come.
Notice the people who helped you.
And thank God for the blessings you might have overlooked.
Celebrate the big victories.
Celebrate the little ones.
Celebrate other people's accomplishments.
And remember that sometimes the greatest reward isn't reaching the goal.
It's recognizing who you've become,and who helped you get there,along the way.
Don't be so busy asking, "What's next?" that you forget to say, "Look what God has already done."
I'm going to try to remember that this week.
And maybe...
I'll even celebrate before I start planning the next thing.
No promises.
References
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Sharma, Robin. The Everyday Hero Manifesto. HarperCollins, 2021.
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Psalm 118:24.
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1 Thessalonians 5:18.
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Ecclesiastes 3:12–13.
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Philippians 1:3–6.
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James 1:17.
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Luke 17:11–19.