I know of two people who can tell the day of the week for any date that one may give them. When I first met "Tony", he asked me when my birthday was, and without thinking about it, he told me correctly that it was on a Sunday. I tried other dates that I knew for sure, and he was flawless in his answers.

A calendrical savant — or calendar savant — is someone who has the special skill of being able to name the day of the week that any date lands on.

When my son David began driving buses two years ago, one of his regular riders was "Jennifer". When she first met him, she asked when his birthday was. This fall, he hadn't been driving as much because of a teacher-training course that he was taking. However, he decided to take a shift one day just before Christmas. He hadn't seen Jennifer since the summer, but that day, she got on his bus with her social worker. When she was getting off the bus, she said to him, "Can you remind me what your name is?" David told her, and she immediately replied, "Your birthday is today! You are 40 years old today! Happy birthday!" She then broke out into a full chorus of "Happy birthday to you!" David was ecstatic that she had remembered. Five and ten minutes later, departing passengers each wished him, "Happy birthday!" — a gift that kept on giving! At his birthday party that evening, David was excited to tell us the whole story in detail.

What are the chances that such a person would remember such details and then get on one particular bus, out of a hundred that David could have driven, on the exact day when those details were so significant for a milestone birthday? I'd say that the chances are so remote that the simplest explanation is the existence of a loving God with a great sense of humour, Who is just waiting to bless us with random acts of kindness on occasion!

People who are neurodivergent have different strengths and challenges than those whose brains don't have those differences. Such people are often not valued highly. But God is able to use all of us to fulfil His purposes on earth, such as encouraging my son with a minor miracle. Regardless of our skills and abilities, God loves us all equally.

Does the love of God seem real in your life?

1 John 4:9-11 – This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for showing Your love for us through our Lord Jesus. Help us to experience that love in its fullest measure. Amen.

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About the author:

Robin Ross <rross@telus.net>
Mission, British Columbia, Canada
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