Mallory Morrison
Staff Writer
“Isaac, if you mess this up … she stays. You go.”
This is what Isaac Geyman’s grandfather said to him the day that Isaac introduced his girlfriend, Mary Clare, to his family in Idaho. The family fell in love with Mary Clare just as Isaac did. He did not mess anything up with his relationship and actually did quite the opposite.
Sept. 7, 2012 was the day that Mary Clare Jones and Isaac Geyman first met. After class, Isaac struck up a conversation with Mary Clare asking her what she wanted to do after college. She said she really wanted to get married and have kids. What he did not know is that he would be the one she would be married to and have kids with in the near future.
Coming away from that conversation, Isaac thought Mary Clare was the ultimate homeschooler, but she was very smart and understood the concepts they were learning in French, and he needed help. He asked her if she would like to get together and study. The two began to spend more and more time together, and “studying” quickly turned into three-hour walks around the Triangle.
“In relationships, you can go one of two directions. You are either spiritually uplifted or spiritually torn down,” said Isaac.
Mary Clare and Isaac definitely lifted one another up as they began dating in December 2012. Together, they shared a deep passion for the Lord along with other common life and spiritual interests.
Their dating phase did not last long. Isaac popped the question on his girlfriend’s birthday, and on Apr. 10 Mary Clare became his fiancée. The wedding was set for Jun. 23 which made the next two months very busy but very productive months.
After the wedding, the couple went on a sixteen day sightseeing honeymoon road trip to Idaho where they spent the rest of the summer with Isaac’s family. They stopped at many major cities and landmarks along the way from St. Louis to Yellowstone National Park.
In August, Mary Clare and Isaac returned to Dayton to start back at Bryan for the fall semester. A month later, they found out the scariest but most exciting thing had happened to them; they were pregnant.
This news definitely put a twist on things, making their life more hectic, but a good kind of hectic. The couple agrees that every step in their relationship has scared them but that they are excited and full of joy for the unknown that God has in store for them.
Married life is much different than single life. Mary Clare and Isaac are learning this and adjusting to the changes married life brings. Because they now live in their own apartment and are in a different stage in their life than most college students, interacting with their peers has been a challenge. They have now become more involved in other areas of their life including church as they attend Signal Mountain Bible Church and are involved in a married couples small group.
In the future, Isaac plans to attend seminary, and Mary Clare plans to take online classes so she can stay home with the baby that is due in May. As they go through school, finances have been one of the least of their worries as God has blessed them immensely in that area of their lives. After all, Isaac was named the National Merit Scholar coming into Bryan and received a gracious scholarship for his hard work. They say it is cheaper to be married and academically easier.
“In dating, couples can be so distracted as they put aside time to spend with each other. Things are much different when you are married because you are always together. As a married couple we can be more effective,” said Isaac.
The Geymans discovered what the Lord was pointing them toward and allowed Him to guide their path. They knew very early on that they wanted to get married, and because of the green lights they kept seeing, they kept going. As a couple, they recommend that if another couple sees red lights that they should address them immediately and not just push them aside to save heartache.
Mary Clare and Isaac’s advice to young couples wanting to get married is to not try to fit into a traditional way of doing things. Within nine months of knowing each other, they started a friendship that lead to a dating relationship and resulted in a marriage and a soon to be family. This path was just perfect for them even though it had its own difficulties and complicated elements. One thing they realized was that as a couple they did not have to do things the way others did, because every relationship is different. Mary Clare and Isaac are a walking example of uniqueness in couples.
“There never becomes a point in our relationship that I feel that I understand it now. That is the beauty of relationship. It is just like your relationship with God. You never fully understand. From the day you are born ‘till the day you die it only gets better if you are living in a holy and upright way. It is the same with marriage. Sometimes life throws you curveballs, or in our case little baby beach balls,” said Isaac as he rubbed Mary Clare’s belly and smiled.
