Dante Lupinetti
Dante Lupinetti’s Prose Stories
A collection of personal reflections, faith-filled moments, and heartfelt stories inspired by life, family, loss, redemption, and hope.
Gone
It sat in the driveway for a month after his death.It was his final transaction. He wanted a new pickup to go with his new wife and son.
The boy walked up to the passenger side. He lifted his arms but no one came this time. He waved to the repo man who acknowledged with half a smile before getting into the driver seat.
He looked at his mom. She also smiled. Suddenly, she remembered a photo she left in the truck and waved to the driver who let her retrieve it.
Click, click, click went the starter. The boy jumped back at the sound of the roaring engine. He watched as the man backed the big truck onto an even bigger truck. Ashe drove away the little boy waved good-bye. He looked at the picture. “Mom,” he said pointing to her on the left. “Me,” he said pointing to himself in the middle.
“Who’s that?” she asked, pointing to her husband on the right hoping to burn his image into his little one-year-old mind.
“Gone,” he answered. He did not say dad or pop. Only, “gone.”
From the Author: The above is based on a true story and true scene.
Second Chances
From the Author’s Corner
Sometimes, the experiences of life crystalize into something meaningful like this. I thought I would share it with you.
In the wee hours of the morning, while the cold alpine winds were blowing, he walked into the diner.
“Good morning,” came the familiar shout from the staff behind the counter.
No matter what time it was, it was always morning at the diner.
Behind the grill stood the cook, his tattoo forever marking him as an ex-convict. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he leaned over the hot grill, responding quickly to the waitresses calling out orders across the floor.
“Hash browns, smothered, covered, and peppered!” one waitress shouted. “Two cracked and splattered. Crispy, crispy, crispy!”
“Got it,” grumbled the muscular cook as his biceps flexed while flipping eggs across the grill.
Another twelve months of this job and he could finally buy a used car and stop riding the bus. He was rebuilding his life one hour at a time, eight dollars at a time.
It was slow going, but at least he was clean, and at least he was no longer in trouble with the law.
At another table, a customer opened a Bible. Unlike the boulevard of broken dreams that decorated the walls of the old diner, the Word of God, a cup of coffee, and a hot breakfast brought a small ray of hope into the man’s life.
GOING THE WRONG WAY
“I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.
I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.” Psalm 119:59-60 NIV
When I was traveling for work before GPS, I would sometimes hurry to get to the airport, eager to get home. One of those times, my boss was with me, and we were running late. I was confused about which way to go on the interstate so I took my best guess. The signs were unfamiliar. I sped up, expecting to see an airport sign in a few more exits. No luck. Fully convinced I would soon spot the exit, I sped up. “Where’s the airport exit?” I asked in frustration.
Finally, my boss leaned over and looked at the speedometer. “You’re going ninety mph in the wrong direction,” he said.
What an idiot you are, I thought to myself. Then, as the tension in my mind subsided, I laughed, which relaxed me enough to realize that I needed to turn around. I got off the next exit and turned around.
I’ve been a Christian for fifty-plus years. Sometimes, I get lax in my walk with the Lord. I miss reading his Word; I offend someone and fail to seek forgiveness; I stretch the truth (lie); etc., etc., etc. Like my boss telling me I was going in the wrong direction, I need to consider my ways. Like the speedometer telling me I was going too fast and the road signs indicating I was lost, I need to turn in the direction of God’s Word. Like getting off the exit and turning around, I need to hasten to obey God’s Word.
Dante
He Waits
Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait. And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more that the watchmen for the morning.
Like a little boyhe went to his room and upon his bed he sat. Therehe waited, his wrongs so blatant before him. He slid from the bed to his knees, his wrongs so ever before him. His heart cried out, forgive me. He felt the love and calmness come over him. Then, he felt the belt strap on his behind followed by the loving caress of His Lord as he remembered, “the Lord disciplines those whom He loves.”
Sofia’s Soul Food
In her final days she only wanted the word of God. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone; human recognitionbecame meaningless.I positioned myself at the rear of the couch where we could make eye contact.
She looked up and then away, as if to say, I know you’re there, but what do you have for me? No, I don’t want candy. My body can’t use it. No, I don’t need you to hug or kiss me. I know you love me. Repeatedly, saying it does no good.
Then, someone looked her in the eye and asked, “Do you want me to read Psalms?” Her voice was gone, but she nodded yes. Another came close and asked her if she wanted them to sing a hymn. She nodded yes. Just about everything was gone: voice, appetite, strength, but her hearing and eyesight remained and she yearned for that which consoles and feeds her soul.
My three-year-old granddaughter, Sofia Faith Feltkamp, went home to be with the Lord in November 2025 from a terminal brain tumor known as DIPG.
A HERITAGE OF FAITH
We now live in a generation where 70% of millennials are walking away from their faith and the church. Most have never experienced their own saving relationship with God. They’ve only known God at a distance; impersonal, not life changing. How can this be reversed? “A Heritage of Faith” is the true story of my family telling the way in which God used family (mother, father, siblings, church) to bring our 5 millennials back to Himself.This story is full of hope. It reveals something every parent and grandparent will want to consider as they shepherd their family into saving faith.