When asked what she would say to a mother who feels that she is worthless, Julianne Torres replied that she will first bring to mind her own experiences, specifically when she had COVID. But she did not finish there, as she said in Filipino, “we are all made in God’s image and likeness. For Him, we are all perfect, calling us children of God.” She continued saying no mother has gone to school to be a mother, but it all comes instantly as “God equips mothers.”
This was the final question at a pageant for mothers of all ages called Reina ng Tahanan (Queen of the Home), a segment of the popular Philippine noontime show, It’s Showtime. With God as her center, Torres won the crown and title.
Focus On God’s Promises
“The grand final question, I answered it with how I also solved that same problem when I felt I didn’t have value anymore,” Julianne said. “God’s love is so great that if you will focus on His promises, you can face any problem,” she added.
Julianne wanted to join Reina ng Tahanan so that she could gain mileage to her Facebook page/advocacy Just Do it, which is a companion of sorts to her motherhood journey. She said, “It’s only a bonus for my dream to dance on national TV. My dancer friends would say that I made our dream come true.”
She was supposed to be a contestant in July 2021. Unfortunately, that was also the time when her family got hit with COVID-19. She divulged that she felt useless when her family, her husband, their two kids, and she got sick.
She was asking herself how she could take care of her children when she herself was sick. As a stay-at-home mother, she felt relegated. However, as she was raised a Catholic, she was reminded of God’s love and His plan as her family prayed and attended mass, “I surrendered (to God) and voila, like a miracle, my anxieties, my feeling down, little by little, were erased and gone” she said.
Praying For Others
“At night, we do the finger praying activity, praying for others, and the grateful activity,”Julianne shared. “We always pray and thank God for all the blessings, and we ask ourselves if we have shared that blessing by becoming a blessing. Simple questions like: did they eat the food prepared, did they share and listen to each other so that there is less sibling rivalry, did they obey mommy in doing chores like cleaning up the playroom, and did they feed the pet, water the plants?”
Apart from prayers and questions, Julianne revealed their house rule of no TV or screen time on weekdays. Because of this, she said, her five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter always looked forward to Sundays. They watch the 7:00 AM online mass together.
Attending Online Mass
“Sometimes when the priest inserts a joke in his homily, my husband and I laugh. My kids would ask why, what happened, what did Father say,” she quipped. “After attending online mass, we will watch beginner’s bible cartoon shows.”
They also play music. The proud mom of two told her kids that she was once part of the youth ministry. “And we would dance in front like the ones doing the interpretative dance during the online mass,” Julianne said. With this in mind, her kids would also memorize the worship songs along with the dance moves.
In November 2021, Julianne finally had the chance to join the contest again.
“I thought during the daily contest, I would lose, because my contenders were talented, pretty, and brainy,” she disclosed. But the talent manager who trained us told me to just be myself because the judges would know who was genuinely showing the heart of a mom.
She considered it luck as November is her birth month, and even though she was rushed to the weekly finals and monthly finals (with only a day apart from the daily), she had people helping her and making sure that everything was prepared. Friends were messaging her, asking if she needed some help. She felt blessed.
“For the first time in five years, I gave something to myself,” she said. “It is hard to leave my children. But they also need to learn how to thrive, and also, this was the chance they could bond more with my husband.”
Julianne had always wanted to join contests, and Reina ng Tahanan had her mark. After all, her Facebook page was about mothering. Her advice to fellow parents is to believe in themselves the way that God believes in them. “There is no parent for your child but you.” She finished by saying, “God made us so strong so that we can rear better future adults.”
