Elizabeth Gaddis, Mother’s Month Special: Triplets, Faith, and Finding Strength in Prayer

Triplets. A baby at home. A working husband. Tight budgets. Big faith.

At the center of her story is a steady foundation—faith expressed through prayer. You’ll hear how prayer has guided her marriage, shaped family decisions, and anchored her through uncertainty, including big transitions like college planning and raising children into adulthood.

In this Mother’s Month conversation, Elizabeth Gaddis joins Be a Baller to share the real story behind motherhood—no filters, no highlight reel. As a mother of four sons (including triplets), married since 1981, and a grandmother of 11, Elizabeth brings 35 years of experience serving students and families through Columbus City Schools and a lifetime of lessons learned in the middle of everyday life.

This episode dives into what many parents quietly wrestle with: the overwhelming days, the moments you wish you handled differently, and the slow, shaping work of learning to respond instead of react. Elizabeth speaks honestly about raising boys, the importance of presence over perfection, and why “enjoying the moment” matters even when life feels stretched thin.

If you’re a parent who feels unseen, tired, or pulled in too many directions, this conversation offers grounded encouragement: stay connected to people who pour into you, give yourself space to breathe, and stay faithful in the small daily choices that shape your home.

If this episode encourages you, subscribe to Be a Baller, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more families discover these conversations and build a legacy with intention.

Transcript

Season Vision And Mother’s Month

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to season seven of Be a Baller, the podcast where success is the goal. Legacy is. This season is all about intentional living, leading with purpose, serving with faith, and leaving a mark that outlives us. We go beyond the highlights, bringing you real conversations with legacy builders from ministry, business, sports, education, and community. Leaders committed to the wisdom pledge, paying it forward to the next generation. If you're ready for faith-filled leadership and practical wisdom to live on purpose and finish strong, let's be a baller, legacy style.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Hello everyone, this is uh Coach Tim Brown. Welcome to Be a Baller Podcast. I'm so excited today that we have a special episode of Be a Baller this month. It's our Mother's Month. We're shining a light on women whose sacrifice, wisdom, and strength often shape generations behind the scenes. But I'm even more excited to have our special guest host with us for the interviews, and that's my lovely wife, Miss Carmen Brown. And Carmen will be uh actually doing interviews. So I'm gonna get out the way and turn over to the ladies. Enjoy.

SPEAKER_04 1:08

Today's episode is called What They Don't Tell You, But What We Will. Because motherhood, marriage, family, and legacy come with lessons people don't always talk about, but they should. Our guest today is Miss Elizabeth Gaddis, a mother of four sons, including Triblett, a proud grandmother, a devoted wife, and part of the foundation behind the family business, Gaddis and Son. She has also faithfully served in Columbus City schools, working in the school's cafeteria, impacting students and families every single day. She brings wisdom from raising boys, balancing family life, supporting a business, and staying grounded through every season. This is going to be honest, powerful, and full of gems. Ms. Gaddis, welcome to Be a Baller Podcast.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Thank you. I am so honored. Thank you, Brother Tim and Sister Carmen, for inviting me. And I feel very privileged to be here and to share. I'm looking forward to it.

The Day She Learned Triplets

SPEAKER_04 2:15

All right. So we're going to get started with motherhood and raising son. So what was your first reaction when you found out you were having triplets?

SPEAKER_03 2:27

I tell this story a lot because my oldest son uh was seven months old when I became pregnant with the triplets. I did the math, it figured it out. So uh I wasn't even trying to have another so soon. So three months. I was three months before I went to the doctor because I didn't think I was pregnant. Uh and the second visit, he said, Oh, you're big. Let's have an ultrasound. So that's when they discovered they were triplets. And so I was just like, okay, uh, Lord, you're doing this for some reason. I don't know why, but I just kind of accepted it. My mom was there with me when I found out and uh was trying to locate my husband so I could tell him. And he was at work. And I just like, Lord, you know, this is totally your doing, and you're gonna have to help me through this. So I thank God that I had a support system uh with family and church family that uh prayed for me for one, and um and God blessed, He really blessed.

SPEAKER_04 3:41

Amen. So um triplets. So, what are some things people don't tell you about raising boys until you live it for yourself?

Raising Boys With Wisdom And Patience

SPEAKER_03 3:51

Raising boys is only the only thing I know. I have no comparison because I don't have girls. So um, and I tend to gravitate to boys at school. I'm usually they I've got their attention, they've got my attention. So it's like, I I guess I've discovered a language with them. Boys, they're rough, you know. I was used to that. I wasn't really a frilly little girl with frilly dresses or anything. So boys fit me. Um, you know, being a little athletic a little bit and just picking up and going. And they didn't have all of the little fits that little girls would have. So we just we just got in the car, we went to this sport, that sport, and uh it to me it was smooth sailing. We didn't have to worry about a whole lot of things that you have to worry about with with little girls. So I was just used to the to the rough and tumble. And okay, this one one of them's tooth came out at church. I just like fell on the steps of the church. And like, I told you to stop doing that. You know, we just rolled, just rolled with it. So I was able to do that without panicking every other day.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

How did becoming a mother shape your identity as a woman?

SPEAKER_03 5:10

I felt like I I had to um live in front of them. And probably would have been that way with a girl, but set an example in front of my sons. And I think it's important that we set good examples in front of our children. So uh once I became a mother, it was all it was basically all about them. Anything I did, I kind of structured it around them, you know. Uh, and sometimes that was good and sometimes that wasn't so good, but I felt like it was the best thing to do. Um, I was home a lot with them. My husband worked construction, works construction. So there were a lot of late nights. I just managed to do everything, but they were used to a mother that handled a lot of stuff. So that was one thing they grew up seeing.

SPEAKER_04 6:04

Good. So what uh lessons did raising four sons, and kind of some of what you might have already said, but what lessons did raising four sons teach you about patience, sacrifice, and faith?

SPEAKER_03 6:18

Well, some of the patience it uh teaching came from trial and error because I would maybe on them for doing this or that. And then my husband would come home and he said, and he would look at it from a different point of view, and then I realized, oh, I might have overreacted. Okay. So the next time I came at something a little bit different and more of that, okay, I'm gonna listen to them. I'm not gonna jump to conclusions, I'm not gonna chastise them so hard. But um, so as the years went on, I I don't know that I got softer or anything. I think I just more mature as a mother felt like I I handled it a little bit better with with time.

SPEAKER_04 7:05

And when when you think about the word sacrifice, what do you think? I mean, how how did you have to sacrifice uh being a mother of three triplets, all boys?

SPEAKER_03 7:15

Even though we were pretty good at at our finances and everything, having four kids in diapers, actually, uh when they were born, and the expense, you know, uh we we just kind of did what we did. We didn't do a whole lot of extravagant things. We were doing the basics, we were doing local things, we were doing cool things. So that's one sacrifice. There's one. Um, I had several friends and cousins. They went right back to work after their and I chose to stay home, and that was a sacrifice because that meant I didn't have the income to maybe get the hair done, the nails done, all of that kind of thing. Right. But it was okay. I was okay with that because I felt like I was home. I just come to the realization that some of that stuff wasn't mattering right there. What mattered to me was being home with my kids, my sons.

SPEAKER_04 8:12

Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self as a mother?

SPEAKER_03 8:17

Enjoy the moment because it goes real fast. Uh and you hear that a lot, but you don't take that to heart. You there are some days that you feel like you're pulling your hair out, and it really wasn't that bad, you know. It's like if you after the me now looks back, I'm like, I remember it's like I can't wait till your dad gets home because you know, but it's like it really wasn't that bad. Um, so just to enjoy them, be in the moment, um, take time with them, engage with them, make as many memories as you can because that time by so quick, and then they're off doing their thing and lost out if you didn't take the time.

SPEAKER_04 9:01

Speaking of memories, what's a good memory that everyone would want to laugh about or just like say, Yeah, I can agree with that.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

I have some memories I don't know if I want to share. I was kind of I I can be a little jump to I'm a mama bear, okay? There was one time there was like trying to take Curtis's bike, and I was I was going down the street driving, and I saw this interaction, and I pulled my van up on the curb and jumped out. And I wasn't so proud about it later, but I'm like, I put that car in reverse and that van in reverse and drove it down. And I excited my husband way too much. And it was like, Lord Jesus, that did not have to happen. But you know, I just Curtis was is still the one that he seems to check on me more and a little, you know, even though he's in Indianapolis. So that was the one not to mess with. Okay. And, you know, maybe the other boys I thought could take care of themselves a little bit better. I don't know, but I was being Mama Bear that day.

SPEAKER_04 10:12

And so and I would imagine maybe he's probably saying, go ahead, Bob.

SPEAKER_03 10:15

Right.

Marriage Since 1981 And Prayer

SPEAKER_04 10:16

I might have scared him. I don't know. You and your husband have been married since 1981.

unknown 10:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

What has helped sustain your marriage through every season?

SPEAKER_03 10:30

I think prayer, because we we pray in at almost every season of our life, regardless if it's the kids being young, or prayer has gotten us trying to be there for each other, understanding, listening, and praying for the family. You know, I don't know how anybody does anything without prayer.

SPEAKER_04 10:52

So, what values were most important for you to pass down to your children?

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Um we uh come from both our parents, which I had the privilege of having good relationship with my in-laws, very good relationship with them. They helped us out a lot. My parents and my in-laws got along and they had the same values, they had church values. Um one little story. My mom um when she moved, when they moved to Columbus, was told to look up Vivian Gaddis. My mom didn't know who she was, but we had gone to first church as I when I was little, and my mom and her mother would write letters and send cookies to my mother-in-law's brother who was in the service, Uncle Bill. And so when the families came together, it's like, okay, we kind of know a little bit about you and we know a little bit about you. And it blended really well. And my parents and my in-laws would take trips together and go pick up kids from college and stuff like that. So um that was a key thing for us um that we had the same values as far as manners and you know, instilling those kind of things into the the boys, you know. They didn't just see it with us, but they saw it with their grandparents. And um, so it's like if if I didn't correct you, you know, somebody else in the family was gonna tell you, oh, you know, say mister, and don't call people by their first names and stuff like that. So that was that was good.

SPEAKER_04 12:40

As a grandmother of 11 now, how has your perspective of on family changed?

SPEAKER_03 12:47

Perspective is kind of probably not as not not a very harsh, you know, sometimes you have to lighten up, okay? Um because times are different. Um, they're not raising their kids like we raised ours, and that's not a good or a bad thing. It's just a different time. And um, so you you just sometimes you can't interject what you think or say. You just have to listen and give support and give love and you know, have a listening ear and give wisdom, you know, when when you feel like they're ready to hear it.

SPEAKER_04 13:28

Okay. So as uh you're a grandmother of 11. Yes. So how many are girls?

SPEAKER_03 13:34

Six girls now.

SPEAKER_04 13:35

Okay, five boys. Okay. So um what do you hope your children and grandchildren remember most about you?

SPEAKER_03 13:46

I want them to remember that they are loved, okay, and that uh their grandmother wants them to find men and women. They have a relationship with Christ that they take that seriously. And I I pray that they see that in me. I know my mother always asks my pray. And so they know we pray when they come over, you know, we pray at the end of the day, pray, you know, over our food, pray a lot of times, but prayer, um, and just living, you know, like men and women should, you know, upright and respectful and Christ-like.

Serving Families Through Public Schools

SPEAKER_04 14:27

Yeah, okay. You spent 35 years serving in Columbus City schools. So, how did serving students and families outside your own home shape your perspective as a mother?

SPEAKER_03 14:42

Well, that's another way uh um to you have to understand that everybody's not the same. They weren't raised the same. Some of the kids that come through that I've seen down through the years, family units are not, you know, supportive or so you you can't approach every kid the same way. You have to fill them out, see what what they need, basically. Maybe they need more attention, maybe they need other things. But um I know at one point I was a teacher's aide, and um there was a child that I tutored after school and sometimes in school. My heart just broke because I saw the kid lived, but it's like he needed somebody to spend some time with, reading and doing other things at school. So even though I primarily third the most of the 35 years has been with food service, those years that I had as a teacher's aide, I gained a whole lot of perspective. And I had principal that really helped direct me when I was wanting to address some things with my own kids, uh, teachers and principal, right? I would write a letter and I say, This is what I'm gonna send. She's like, Gaddish, you can't say it that way. You gotta do that. So I appreciated that part of my 35 years, even though it wasn't as much, but it meant a lot to me to get to know other kids and their backgrounds, you know, makes them who they are. Not everyone is the same.

SPEAKER_04 16:19

Now we've we've talked about you've talked about prayer uh before, but we're gonna ask what role did prayer play in your household while raising your children?

SPEAKER_03 16:29

Trusting in God, there was always something that, something to be praying for every season. And I I know when they were going to college, I just I felt like the Lord spoke to me about that. And it was just really clear. So I prayered me. Having faith and trusting God helped direct me, listening to what I believe the Lord was telling me to allow the kids to go to this college. I I wasn't real sure I wanted Curtis to go to Anderson. It was a private school, it was gonna cost more money. There, I wasn't gonna get a scholarship, okay, but for him. And um lo and behold, Matthew got a scholarship at Ohio State. And I remember um the Lord saying, watch me, let me handle this, watch me make this happen. So I'm like, okay, so I wasn't gonna not let him go if after hearing that, you know. So that helped um direct me as far as with them, you know, praying about what they need to do and having them pray as well, and not saying, no, you can't do that. First, you gotta trust the Lord and pray. And and he will open the door, and he surely did. So Curtis graduated, all of them graduated from college in four years.

SPEAKER_04 17:57

So And that's one of the wonderful things about prayer that we can't lean not to our own understanding. Because sometimes we don't understand, right? Sometimes we think we know. Right. But when God opens up that door and tells Joe does directs us that right way, we say, okay, all right, God, you were right that time. So we give God praise for that. So how do you keep God at the center of your marriage, family, and decision?

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Prayer. Okay. Um, you know, we we discuss things. Um, sometimes it's late at night, sometimes it's early in the morning. Um, but we don't jump off and do stuff without discussing it and praying about it and saying, okay, it's coming to a mutual understanding of what we're gonna do and how we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_04 18:44

So would you say that was a gradual thing as a husband and wife?

SPEAKER_03 18:47

Probably so. Okay. Because it seems to be more present these days than it was early days. I think early days I was just busy with kids and and but now I think my mature self knows I I better pray.

Encouragement For Moms And Legacy

SPEAKER_04 19:03

Praise God for maturity. Right. So, what encouragement you would you give mothers who feel overwhelmed, unseen, or exhausted?

SPEAKER_03 19:12

I would say get connected with somebody that you can they can feed into you and you can listen to them. Because there's so much that I'm thinking about right now. But that would be the one thing. Uh the other thing would be get into a church. I mean, you find those people in a church too that will help you and support you. But relax, breathe, enjoy your kids. I wish I had that. I've told some of the younger women years ago that do what's feels best for you and your child. Because not everybody's advice is going to fit your situation. So don't try to do everything somebody's telling you to do. Just, you know, seek God and and know your kid and know your children and and go that way.

SPEAKER_04 20:06

I like the word relax. Sometimes we just have to, you know, truly just relax. Right. When we think about they, what are they not telling people about motherhood, marriage, and life that you believe they need to hear today?

SPEAKER_03 20:22

I know some people feel like it's a uh it's a job that no one gets for, but it it's the most important job in the world. Raising the next generation. We're raising the next leaders. Um so we owe it to our children and to their future to do all that we can do. Um, yeah, sometimes you need to let them stumble, fall, figure it out their self. But if I can tell you don't go that direction, it would be better for them. But um that's about it.

SPEAKER_04 21:00

Do you have any like last words that you might want to share?

SPEAKER_03 21:04

Um I I thank God for my kids. I always say they were my uh gift from God. And I pray that they I blessed them as much as they blessed me. Um just being their mother, especially after they got grown. Uh like I'm I don't I was proud and busy, but now I'm proud and watching them, you know. So that just I I I'm so grateful that they're in the church and um leaders and leading their families and respectful and upright men. And uh so it's you know, like I said, I didn't I didn't have girls to compare to, but I'm sure I'm sure proud of my my men, my sons, so. So uh there's a lot of things that we think about later on in life uh that kind of um shaped us. And I've had some ladies in from the church that uh I think back at and think back on and from work that have kind of steered me, helped me, gave me little nuggets, lady that uh no longer living, but pick her up for church sometime. She would we said they were little nuggets, they were her nuggets that she shared with us. And because she had a lot of kids and she had grandkids, so she knew what I was going through. And she'd say, Liz, this and this and this, Liz, don't do that. Liz, I know when Curtis went off to school, every time I dropped him off at school, I cried. Oh and she said, Liz, stop doing that. He's not gonna want to come home if you cry every time. I'm like, I don't know why I would do that. But that was the child that was close to my heart. So those people in my life, uh, I still remember and I try to pass their little wisdom on to other younger mothers that I see. Um, and and I feel like I I pray that the Lord just puts me in contact with the with with women, young women. I have several at work um at mothers, and I'm just I pray that I'm giving them little nuggets that they can remember later in life.

SPEAKER_04 23:31

I'm sure you're doing a great job at that. Because wisdom is important. And and and uh now that we're um both both mothers and have our children are older, we do uh recognize that we the Bible tells us you have to lean not to your own understanding. Yes. And so sometimes it's it's just that wisdom. And we have to really appreciate the fact that there's some folks that can give us wisdom, may know something a little different than we do, and and so it's a good thing that you have made a commitment to your children and now you have opportunity to share that wisdom.

SPEAKER_03 24:02

The one last thing is to remember God's not gonna give you more than you can handle. And a lot of times I've been like looking at all these everything, these kids and everything. It's like, okay, God, you gave me these kids. You're gonna help me, you know, handle. You're not gonna give me more than what I can handle. So I'm trusting you. And I have been trusting him for a long time, and he has not failed me yet. So I thank God.

SPEAKER_04 24:30

Thank you, Miss Gaddis, for being our guest today. Um, we are just like so excited about all you that you've shared, and we just hope that our our listeners will be able to appreciate it because it was uh really rich and we appreciate it. So, from raising four sons, including triplets, to supporting her husband, serving in ministry, working for 345 years with Columbus City schools, and now enjoying the blessing of 11 grandchildren, her life reflects what true purpose looks like. This episode, What They Don't Tell You, But We Will, gave us wisdom that can only come from experience and grace that can only come from faith. To every mother listening, your work matters, your sacrifices matter, your prayers matter, and your legacy is being written every single day. Miss Gaddis, thank you for sharing your story, your wisdom, and your heart with us. Make sure you subscribe, share this episode, and continue building legacy wherever God has planted you. This is the Be a Baller Podcast where purpose meets impact. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 25:48

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SPEAKER_02 26:12

Thank you for spending time with us here on Be a Baller Podcast. Remember, legacy isn't built by accident. It's built through daily choices, faithful obedience, and intentional impact. If today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, or spoke to your heart, share this episode with a friend, a teammate, a leader, or someone who's ready to live with purpose. That simple act of sharing helps us grow the movement and spread legacy-minded living. We want to invite you to join the legacy movement. This is more than a podcast, it's a call to action. And one of the best ways to go deeper is by grabbing your copy of the book Living a Legacy. It's a powerful resource designed to help you apply what you're hearing and start building something that truly lasts. Until next time, keep showing up, keep pouring into others, and keep building a legacy worth following. Thanks for listening. And remember, be a baller. Live on purpose. Leave a legacy.