Breakfast honors heroes

Paul Coffman has enjoyed success on the playing field, but on Friday he urged people to look beyond today’s triumphs and troubles.

Coffman, a star tight end at Kansas State University and then in the NFL – including a couple of years with the Chiefs – spoke Friday morning at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Blue Springs. He cited the Bible several times, including a reminder from 1 Samuel 16: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

He said growing up in Chase, Kan., he went to church but had what he called a “Santa Claus” view of God – someone to turn to when you needed something. (Yes, he’s the dad of Chase Coffman, the University of Missouri star tight end who’s now in the NFL, and, yes, that’s the town Chase is named for.)

As he enjoyed increasing success on the football field, he still went to pre-game chapel and attended Bible study, but he said it wasn’t with the right motivation. He was enjoying the star lifestyle, right down to the red Porshe.

“I had my agenda pretty much laid out. ... My life was all about me. My view of Christianity was a bunch of do’s and don’ts,” he said.

But the story he continued to tell is one of a man discovering that God is more interested in a person’s heart than a person’s sins. It all finally came to a head.

“I wasn’t a menace to society, but I was very selfish,” he said.

It was a turning point, and he committed himself to Christ. He cited the New Testament story of the prodigal son, who renounces his father, leaves and squanders his inheritance, returning home only when he is destitute – and yet his father sees him from afar and rushes out to hug him.

“You know, I think many times we don’t understand the nature of God. ... He’s a forgiving God,” Coffman said.

The prayer breakfast is an annual event, and this year Mayor Carson Ross singled out women veterans for honors, giving medals to about two dozen.

One of them was Marie Kimball, 91, of Blue Springs. She was a Navy gunnery instructor in Texas in 1944 and 1945, during World War II. She taught sailors how to use .30-caliber and .50-caliber weapons.

“It just brings back a lot of memories. ... And I’m thankful for the men and women serving today,” she said.

The mayor, who served in the Army in Vietnam, also reminded those present that the “Wall that Heals,” a replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., is coming to Blue Springs next year. It will be at Pink Hill Park from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3.

“The Vietnam War was not one that was appreciated by a lot of people,” the mayor said, “and so we were not appreciated, but the mood is changing.”