Texas couple: God ‘purposefully connected' us to kids found chained in horrific abuse case
The Shaw family at Christmas: LaKenya, 38, Allen, 39, Josiah, 7, Naomi, 5, and Matthew, 2, (LaKenya Shaw via Fox News)
FOX NEWS - A San Antonio couple said it was divine intervention that brought three children into their lives.
The two had recently suffered a miscarriage and wanted children of their own. Their life changed suddenly when they got a call from Theresa Nealy two years ago.
Nealy, a foster parent of 20-plus years, knew the instant she saw LaKenya and Allen Shaw at church that they were the right parents for the kids she was fostering. The kids, then 3 and 4, had been found bound and chained in what turned out to be one of Bexar County’s most horrific child abuse cases.
"In my mind I heard God say, 'Those are the parents I have chosen for those children,'" Nealy told the San Antonio Express-News.
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Nealy ended up reaching out to the Shaws. LaKenya said the call was like a miracle.
“I was at a retreat when God told me to stand up and tell all these ladies that next year I would have a baby on my hip,” she told Fox News. “And that night, Theresa Nealy called me.”
She ended up meeting the kids shortly afterward in Sunday school.
“All I could hear from God was ‘these are your babies,’” LaKenya said. “When we met those children, they knew us and we them, it was an instant connection and so evident God had purposefully connected us.”
The adoption became official last May. Today, the siblings, Josiah, 7, and Naomi, 5, are flourishing in their new home. They have new last names and are making new memories, far from the cold, rainy day when they were rescued from heinous conditions.
“All I could think is ‘Why would anyone do that to a child?’ All we wanted to do was love them and give them a safe place, and dealing with their trauma – God just gave us the grace to deal with them and be patient with them. We could tell they were sweet and precious kids, but they’ve been through a lot,” LaKenya said. “All God gave us was love for them.”