Jeremy and Oprah

Much ado has been made of the Farwell Spectacular tribute for Oprah, to which ashamedly,  I cynically succumbed. One glittering celebrity after another gushed about the transformative gospel of Oprah, while glorying in their enviable role in her faux family. While the disciples of the day-time diva may emulate her humanistic pluralism and view her as a global mother, I am gratified to have my own family with a mother so refreshingly unlike Oprah- whose eyelashes are solely her own.

Last Monday evening, we hosted a more intimate familial gathering to say farewell to the 29th year of my brother-in-law, Jeremy’s life. This birthday spectacular may have lacked the Hollywood regalia of the Oprah memorial and no one would have mistaken the occasion for an NAACP convention, but Jeremy relished the humble festivities, with comparably less tears than the falsely eyelashed-philanthropist.

Proving his conviction that it does not-in fact- take a village to raise his children, Jeremy has demonstrated a commitment to excellence in fatherhood and a confidence in the sanctity of marriage. Further, Jeremy is unswerving in dedication to the clearly definable theology of Christian doctrine, resisting the cultural persuasion towards a syncretic, Oprah-like faith. Though, my brother-in-law may never attend his own glittering Farewell Spectacular and (sadly) never be serenaded by Rosie O’Donnell and Usher, he will have lived a life worthy of the gospel. And that will be more rewarding then winning all of Oprah’s "Favorite Things".