Sermon Tone Analysis

Like you, I would rather not be here today.

But we are and we gather in profound sadness to mourn the loss and also with a spirit of rich gratitude to celebrate the life of Amanda Mehaffy (a.k.a.

“Nanny”, a.k.a.

“Beans”)

The Bible tells us, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.

Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.”

He also said: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.

If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said.

“We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Let’s seek the Lord in prayer.

Our Father, we come to you today saddened by the loss of such a bright light in our midst.

We confess to you that we don’t understand why some things happen the way they do.

However, we trust You even when we don’t understand.

Help us Father to change our focus from the death of Amanda Mehaffy to her life and the way she lived it.

Restore to us happy memories.

Build within us the hope and confidence that comes to all who have put their faith in Christ.

Amen.

If nothing else, Amanda was a fighter.

[Fight Song]

When I visited with Amanda last Sunday, I asked her what she would like to say in her own funeral.

She did not hesitate.

She said, “Tell everyone how grateful I am for all their support, prayers, cards, visits, and notes.

They have meant the world to me.”

When I asked her what to tell people who wanted to come see her, she said, “Tell them to come.”

And they did.

This statement somewhat epitomizes who Amanda was.

She was a person who was always aware of other people.

Even in her sickness she was concerned for the well-being of the people around her.

This is the way she was all her life.

Let’s go all the way back to the beginning.

Amanda was an easy birth and was always a loving child.

She enjoyed times of cuddling with her parents.

She and her brother Bryan would come home from school and eat boxes and boxes of cereal.

They especially liked those sugary kids cereals that had prizes inside.

Bryan figured out that if you spun the box several times upside down the prize would rise to the top and you wouldn’t have to eat to the bottom to find it.

That meant Amanda seldom got the prize.

She accused Bryan of putting his grubby hand in the cereal to fish out the prize.

He let her believe that.

He shared his secret just recently.

Amanda liked to eat Coco Puffs and Count Chocula . . .

not just as a kid, she still liked them!

She loved anything chocolate and since she was always slim, she could get away with eating it.

She thought she had a foretaste of Heaven when they came out with crunchy M & M’s.

When she was on a protein diet, she felt she was getting good protein when she ate M & M peanuts.

When Amanda was 8 years old, she went to visit Aunt Ann in Dixon.

Ann and Amanda were washing dishes together.

Ann had on rubber gloves while she washed.

The phone rang and when Ann returned, Amanda had the gloves on and was in the process of filling them with water!

Once she was riding in a go-cart at home and the track was a little muddy.

She hit a ditch and ended up covered in mud.

She was not a happy camper.

Larry had polished up the 4-wheeler and told the kids they should let it sit for a couple of weeks because the frost was still thick on the ground.

But, after dad left she and Bryan went for a ride and buried the 4-wheeler in a ditch.

Bryan’s question to Amanda was, “Where do you want to be buried?”

Let’s just say people remember differently what the repercussions were.

The family did lots of camping.

When Amanda was in 4th grade the family went to Colorado to go skiing.

She and Bryan were skiing down the big hills before the time was over.

Maybe this is why her earliest dream was to be a beautician and live in Colorado.

Amanda liked to sleep with Molly, her stuffed Bear.

She only passed Molly on to Kiley a week ago.

Coen had received Mr. Sloth from his grandpa and grandma Mehaffy for his 1st birthday.

When Amanda got sick Coen gave his mom Mr. Sloth to help her tummy feel better.

Mr. Sloth was her companion until she went home to be with the Lord.

She made some lifelong friends when she was in High School.

These friends rallied to her side in her time of need.

In her yearbook the Senior question was, “If one word could describe you, what would it be?”

Her answer, “’Sensitive’ because I don’t like people talking about others.”

Her friends remembered that “Manny” had terrible allergies and always needed Kleenix.

She would use the Kleenix and then ball it up and you would find these balls everywhere (under pillows, cushions, and she would sometimes leave a trail of where she had been.)

Amanda loved making cakes with her mom for birthdays and weddings.

Amanda was among the youngest in her class.

When she was finally able to drive, she loved to cruise La Harpe.

She got pulled over the first time (yes, there were others) coming out of the Cemetery after dark.

That time her friends didn’t hang around.

They just drove past every so often to give her a hard time.

Amanda could sometimes be a little naïve.

Once when she was out with Amber Anell she got a flat tire.

She called home to ask her dad to come out and fix it.

She said, “But it is only flat on one side!”

When in High School, Amanda did her Co-op with the Share and Care Preschool.

She was sure she wanted to go into early childhood education.

She attended Carl Sandburg college for two years and then transferred to WIU where she earned her BA in Fashion Merchandising.

She loved going to the Olive Garden with her friends.

They loved the desserts and the salads.

They sometimes didn’t have room for dessert and always got it to go.

They were afraid they might not have a fork to eat it with when they were hungry, so the forks on the table also were “to go.”

Jenn was her college roommate, and they had a great time together.

Jen gave Amanda the nickname “Beans” because Amanda was a big fan of Coco Chanel, the designer.

From Coco Jenn thought of Coco beans” and the nickname stuck.

Before a floor meeting in their Higgins Hall dorm Amanda and Jenn would take duct tape and put a reserved sign on the (quoting now) “couch that should have been in the garbage 20 year ago.”

When it was time for the meeting, they would make a grand entrance wearing mismatched clothes, wild hair, and maybe a zany hat.

Their dorm room was split between Jenn’s ocean, and Amanda’s jungle.

We all remember where we were when 9/11 happened.