The Night Cometh

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The Night Cometh
By Hal Haralson

[Hal Haralson practices law in Austin and contributes frequently to Christian Ethics Today.]

[Hal Haralson practices law and religion in Austin and is a regular contributor of Christian Ethics Today.]

Lanny Henninger could have passed for John Wayne`s brother.

He was over six feet tall. Lean and rumpled in appearance. This was topped off with a thick head of wavy brown hair.

Lanny was a student at Abilene Christian College in 1955. I was attending Hardin-Simmons University with a minor in agriculture at ACC.

We were both studying for the ministry.

Our paths didn`t cross until forty years later when I was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club of Austin.

Lanny was President of the club. He was a very effective communicator and had a gift of making people feel at ease around him. He was pastor for 26 years of the University Church of Christ on the campus of The University of Texas. His health was excellent.

Lanny was a writer…a good one. He kept a journal. The following appeared in his journal October 5, 1997.

For reasons I dare not divulge, I find myself thinking of time`s passage. And of the milestone`s with which we mark it. Like birthdays and anniversaries.

Baseball`s regular season ended last Sunday. The Dodger`s Brett Butler closed out a 17-year career at age 40. He remarked "I`m surprised at how fast it went." So say we all. One of Neil Diamond`s old songs has it: "Done too soon." And in somber measure the New Testament intones: "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14)

So what to do? Two things, it seems to me. At least two. One: Use up each day. Fill it to overflowing with good. Deliberately enjoy. And two: Begin now. Mend a fractured friendship. Mail an overdue letter. Correct a misunderstanding. Repair a broken heart. Lay aside a grievance. Act on a noble impulse. As we all know, "The night cometh."

Lanny Henninger died of a heart attack the next day, October 6, 1997 while driving on the expressway in Austin.

Gotta go. I have a couple of fences I need to mend.

Fill your day with good.