God brought them together - love made them a family!

Barry Abernathy was born with just a thumb and part of his index finger on his left hand. Still, he’?d become a Grammy-nominated musician. At 50, he had success, a loving wife and two grown daughNters...it was time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. But God had other plans...

- Deborah Evans Price

'Daddy, I've got to show you a picture of these kids. The little boy has a hand just like yours!" Barry Abernathy's 18-year-old daughter, Chassady, said one June evening in 2019.

Like Barry, 4-year-old Tyler had been born with just a thumb and part of his index finger on his left hand.

Chassady often talked about the kids at the day care where she worked. But there was something in her voice, and when she mentioned that Tyler and his sister, Zoey, almost 6, were in foster care...

"You've brought dogs and cats, even goats, home, don't start talking about kids now," Barry quipped with a laugh. But a couple of weeks later, Barry felt a pull to meet the little boy. As Barry approached him, Tyler immediately noticed his hand and rushed to him. "Are you my dad?" Tyler asked. As Barry fumbled for an answer, Tyler bubbled, "You are my dad!"

Unexpected path 

As he drove away, Barry found himself in tears as he felt a spiritual pull to adopt Tyler and Zoey. I'm 50 years old, God. How can You want me to do this now? Barry had worked very hard to get to this point in life. Since childhood, he'd had people doubting his abilities because of his hand-but that had only fueled his determination to prove them wrong.

In school, he became an athlete, playing baseball, football and basketball. And to everyone's amazement even his mother's-Barry followed his dream to be a musician and became a Grammy-nominated entertainer. He is currently a founding member of the award-winning band Appalachian Road Show, who released their new album, Jubilation, this fall.