Yesterday, I walked into a stranger’s home uninvited. No, I wasn’t doing anything criminal — I was just oblivious.

Let me explain … someone in our small group is in a cast, so we were meeting at their home. I had been to their home briefly once last year, so I didn’t feel the need to get the exact address. I thought to myself, I know where it is.

We found their street and I began silently patting myself on the back for such a great memory. The catering vehicle in the driveway made me think he drove his in-laws vehicle home after helping with a reception earlier. The three of us got out of the car, walked up to the house, and I rang the doorbell holding my covered snack. A smiling woman opened the door.

“Hello.” she said.

“Hi!” I said equally friendly as I walked into the home.

I recognized the layout of the house, but not the woman. The furniture was different, but I thought perhaps they moved things around since I last visited. My husband and daughter, sensing something wasn’t right, stopped short of coming in the door. Not me … I walked straight past the woman and into the entryway figuring she was the attendee of the group we hadn’t met yet.

I looked around, puzzled by not seeing our hosts or their daughters. Her strange and silent look at me caused me to ask where they were.

“Ummm. They aren’t here, but they were last night.” She said.

Now it was my turn for a strange look. That’s odd. Why would they not be home? Who is this woman?

“I think you might have the wrong house.” She kindly said.

Mortification flooded through me.

“What? This isn’t their house?” I asked.

“No, they live next door.”

I must have turned fifty shades of red at that moment. I apologized profusely, embarrassed that I walked so carefree into a stranger’s home. I promptly walked back out, apologized more and followed my family to the house next door.

Today, I’m still mortified. If the tables were turned and some stranger walked into my entryway uninvited, I don’t know that I would be so kind and friendly.

It makes me think of the verse, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:2) To be hospitable is to make someone feel comfortable.

We encounter many strangers throughout each day. How do we treat them? Do we take time to make others feel comfortable? Do we shun and criticize others or do our children see our hospitality in action?

With the Thanksgiving holiday around the corner, what can we do to extend a hand to those in need? There are many opportunities to show hospitality to strangers — volunteer to serve dinner at the local Salvation Army or donate food for a Thanksgiving meal for a needy family.

We never know if we are entertaining angels without realizing it, or just being a fantastic role model for our kids.