Open your heart - open it wide; someone is standing outside.

The line is an exhortation to hospitality and spiritual receptivity: the “heart” is imagined as a door that can be opened narrowly or “wide.” The second clause—“someone is standing outside”—introduces urgency and a moral claim on the listener, suggesting that love, grace, or a person in need is being kept at a distance by fear, distraction, or self-protection. In a Christmas setting (as in Engelbreit’s treasury), the “someone” can also evoke the Nativity theme of making room—welcoming the holy or the vulnerable rather than leaving them out in the cold. The quote’s power lies in its simple metaphor and gentle imperative.