Four years ago I was looking for ways to broaden my horizon and get more involved in the community when I came across Brookstone School. For those of you who don’t know much about it, Brookstone School is a non-profit, private school for low income children in urban Charlotte that provides its students with a high quality Christian education they might not have access to otherwise. When I walked into the school for an information session, I quickly realized there was something special about the place. I signed up for the lunch buddy program and was assigned a 1st grader named Tyler Nelson. Tyler is now in 5th grade and we have had lunch a few times a month consistently for the past 4 years. He is a funny, compassionate, smart kid and you can see Christ’s light shining through him. It’s been an awesome experience getting to know him. He’s raised by a single, working mom and has a 25 year old brother named Jabari. With school starting back up (sort of), I was excited to get to back into our routine (even if over facetime) and hear about how his summer was. Turns out it has been a very long summer for Tyler’s family. In early July, his brother Jabari was nearly killed in a terrible car accident with a tractor trailer that resulted in severe brain trauma.
It’s a miracle that Jabari is still alive and his rehab is off to a great start but they have a long road ahead. Tyler’s mom has had to step up to help her son and they have moved to a bigger house so Jabari can move back in for what will likely be at least a year of rehab because he can’t support himself in the shape that he is currently in. As if being a single working mom trying to work while assisting a 5th grader’s virtual school wasn’t enough, she now has to help facilitate rehab as well and help financially support Jabari through this tough time. I have no doubt the Nelson’s will come through this stronger, because of their faith in the Lord and God’s amazing grace, but there’s no doubt this is a stressful time.