210 Minutes with God

By Craig Kearney

June 2nd of this year turned out to be quite significant.

Most people close to me know that I’m a huge fan of an East Bay Area band called Tower of Power. I was 13 years old the first time I heard them, and I remember it well. That show at Frenchy’s in Hayward, CA began my 50 year walk as a musician, specifically as a drummer.

On June 2nd, Tower of Power played their 50th anniversary show at the Fox Theater in Oakland, and, of course, I was there. I have been to 100+ T.O.P. shows over the last 50 years, but from the moment I walked into the beautifully restored Fox, I knew this was special, but I didn’t know why. The next 3 hours proved to be stunning. Tower of Power at their finest. Literally the greatest concert I’ve ever been to. After the 3rd encore, I left the Fox overwhelmed with joy and sadness: joy from the celebration I’d just witnessed, sadness from the realization that this would probably be the last time I would attend a Tower of Power show.

I got on Bart, rode to Berkeley where my car was parked, and began my drive home on I-80 east. Little did I know what was about to happen.

For the next 210 minutes (3 and a half hours), God and I talked. Sometimes quietly, sometimes excited, always deeply spiritual. I had many questions and so did He. I asked about the necessity for such pain and suffering in our world, and He asked about my stubborn refusal to accept forgiveness. I asked, “Am I saved?” and He asked, “Why do you doubt?”

At one point I pulled off I-505 and parked. It was late, dark, and quiet. I exited my car. I can’t recall how long I was there, or even where I was, but I was totally alone with God. That’s when God taught me something I didn’t know. He taught me what his perfect love felt like. Just Him and me. I was the only soul in His universe, and he was the only God in mine. Indescribably wonderful.

In 1968 I began 50+ year journey. I certainly didn’t know it at the time, but my journey turned out to be an amazing story of immense peaks and deep, dark valleys.

June 2, 2018 turned out to be quite significant. My prayer is that everyone reading this story of my 210 minutes with God will have a similar experience. My faith is restored and my hope is alive. The love of God is an amazing thing.

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13.13

Photo by Thomas Hawk on Visualhunt.com CC BY-NC