Randi E. Stump

The Dark Stretch: a Young Wife's Miraculous Ride from Darkness to Light Randi E. Stump

Growing up in the secluded Adirondack Mountains, Randi remembers racing the countryside?s beautiful terrain on horseback. The most difficult run, an old, hilly, logging road covered over with slippery pine needles, was a place where horse and rider were tested, where a fistful of mane and a heart full of trust kept horse and rider together in the havoc of hooves. This first glimpse of the narrow passage under the shadow of looming evergreens was the green flag whipping in the wind?a signal challenging them to run The Dark Stretch together. When the love of her life, Graham, took her hand in marriage and learned the ways of the horseman, Randi had life by the reins. As ranch horsemanship director, she loved instructing children, working with the horses and coordinating the ranch rodeo. Still, some things were outside of her control. On July 30, 2010, just before her 7th wedding anniversary, Randi watched helplessly as her husband and his horse slammed to the arena floor in a rodeo accident. As Graham lay in a coma with a traumatic brain injury and with nothing but bad news coming from the doctors and machines, Randi painstakingly retraced the steps of her own training and grappled for the courage to face the difficult run before her. Just as she?d watched her husband lovingly teach the horse to trust him as trainer, God did the same for her, teaching her to give up control and listen for His direction as she plodded into this new Dark Stretch. The hundreds who saw the accident in the arena and the thousands who followed the story on social media will find new depth of insight as Randi gives a soul-searching account of her transformation and shares all that God showed her in the shadow of death. This story will inspire you to allow God to have His way with you, even if it means facing your own Dark Stretch.