Who taught you? Whose love and attention at a pivotal point in your life made all the difference? Whose belief in you, when you were at your lowest, mattered?

Who was the person you always searched for in a crowd? Who was the parent-figure, the grandparent-figure you needed at just the right time in your life?

Whose advice did you come back to, again and again? What friend taught you more about yourself than you could have realized? Whose banana bread after school made the world seem just a bit better?

Mentors come in all forms. Some are intentional and permanent. Others, fleeting. A passing word at just the right time. But people come into our lives when we need them most. And the smallest things can make a huge difference.

Who made you into the person you are today? Whose voice do you hear in your head when you are proud, when you are at peace? Have you ever told them?

Sometimes telling people what they mean to you can be awkward. It adds a new dynamic to a relationship that wasn’t there before. Or the relationship is in the past, and may feel forced to bring up history.

But.

We need to acknowledge the footsteps we walk in. The kindness we strive to mirror. The wisdom we cherish. We as a culture need to honor the elders and role models who AREN’T celebrities or millionaires.

Tell someone today who they were in your life. Give them the gift of your thanks and of your admiration. Because those words can also make an indelible fingerprint. And we never know who needs that encouragement right now.