Last week I had the opportunity to offer a thank you more than 30 years overdue.

I was invited back to my hometown to present a lifetime legacy award to a teacher who played a pivotal role in me making it through high school, and successfully so.

It all was a surprise: her being the recipient, me getting to hand over the award, and I couldn’t have scripted the night better in my dreams.

Friends, the bible lifts teachers on high; you’ll see their praises sung in many places. And in my four years of high school, no one epitomized this lofty role for me more than “Mrs. H.”

Oh for certain, “Mrs. H” is remembered fondly by hundreds upon hundreds of students, many coming before and after my time in school.

But I’m not certain that she played as much of a direct role in keeping all of them on a path to success — academically, mentally, socially and spiritually — as much as she did me.

When “Mrs. H” first encountered me as a young teenager, she knew a lost soul when she saw one. And for four years, she grabbed tight and didn’t let go even during the many times I wanted to veer back to one of the negative life patterns I grew up around.

“Mrs. H” always had and always will possess that singular ability to make you recognize your own potential, give you grace when you don’t live up to it and then simultaneously cut you no slack just because you may have had a rough go of things growing up.

Trust me, she is mighty big on responsibility and ownership!

Don’t get me wrong; she absolutely is kind when needed. Yet, she unwaveringly holds you accountable to high expectations. And every single bit of it is done out of love … her Christ-like love for everyone around her.

I am under no illusion that what “Mrs. H” did for me as a confused high school student, she did for me and me alone. But, maybe that was her greatest gift even yet! She had the ability to mentor and grow each and every young person while simultaneously making them feel as if they were on a special plane all to themselves.

Friends … take the time to thank those who played critical roles in making you the person you are while you still have the chance. It took me more than three decades to find the perfect opportunity to share with “Mrs. H” the impact she had on my life. And I cannot begin to describe how wonderful that feeling is! … I hope for both of us.

Thank you, “Mrs. H!” … It is largely because of you that I am who I am today. Amen.

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.