The Open Window

After an incredibly hot and long summer which seemed to never end, the weather has cooled off and it is actually almost pleasant - granted, my idea of 'pleasant' isn't necessarily that of anyone else, but you get the point.  I DO NOT LIKE HOT WEATHER SAM I AM.
With the temperature dipping down to almost cool at night, I suggested to my husband that we leave the window open to allow some of this cool, fresh air inside to help us sleep better.  Despite his inclination to experience hay fever, he agreed and we have done this for the past several nights now.
The open window is fabulous.  When I wake up in the morning it's actually cool in the room, and not the artificial cool I usually feel from the fan that blows directly on my sleeping form at least six months out of the year.  I like the night sounds, crickets and cicadas and things like that.  It's a nice little lull-a-bye to fall asleep to.  I also like having the curtain open to allow a little moonlight into the room, nice change of pace from the night light in the hallway.
Now, all that said - I don't believe I thought about all the disadvantages that go along with the open window when I made the suggestion.  First, there is the aforementioned hay fever.  Even though my husband insists it is not bothering him, I wonder if this is entirely true when he begins to snore.  I can never fall asleep first.  I've tried.  And so it goes.  Then, remember those pleasant little night sounds I mentioned?  What about the ones not quite so pleasant that invade the quiet of the night and even have the audacity to startle me awake at times?  The dog somewhere that barks at something then sets up a chorus of barking throughout the neighborhood in every tone and pitch of barking imaginable.  (My own dog is included in this nighttime choir and does her share of directing with the occasional solo piece so rest assured I am definitely not blaming my neighbors!)  The cars going by at all hours of the night are another source of irritation.  Don't those people ever sleep?  A car coming down the street can put it's headlights in my eyes for just a split second then continue on down the road as if nothing had happened.
The point of this dialogue?  Yes, I'm getting there.  The open window has definite advantages, but also disadvantages.  In my mind I have weighed the facts and find the scales definitely tip in favor of leaving the window open on these cool nights despite the drawbacks.  It is the same in life.  Always, always, even when it seems like more bad stuff is getting in than good stuff, leave the window of your heart open.  We miss too much if we close up to the world and let nothing invade our otherwise complacent lives.  God will not open the window forcibly if you have closed it voluntarily.  He will wait for you to realize it needs to be open and for you to let Him inside once again.  So many blessings are waiting.  Don't miss them because you forgot to open the window.