Serrantos - Theological Respose c: Analysis of Grace

Welding With Children: Grace

“Bruton, everything worth doing hurts like hell.” This is one of the main messages of the story Welding With Children and is also what Mr. Fordlyson tells Grandpa Bruton towards the end of the story. This is important because it finally shows Grandpa what he has to go through to accomplish the important things in life. But Grandpa’s saving grace does not begin to occur here, but shows itself early in the story.

In the beginning of the story Grandpa’s four daughters bring their children to his house. His four grandkids, Nu-Nu, Moonbeam, Tammynette, and Freddie, are not the children he remembered. Although the oldest, Freddie, is only seven years old, they act and sound like teenagers sometimes. Another thing that throws Grandpa off is how they react to religion. Grandpa is a very religious man and is disappointed that his grandchildren are not as well. He tries to read them Bible stories and all they care about is who dies and in who kills them. The way the kids act gets Grandpa thinking. He reflects on how the raised his on daughters and how they have turned out. None are married but they all have a child. He begins to think that it as his fault that his own kids turned out the way they did; “I guess a lot of what’s wrong with my girls is my fault, but I don’t know what I could’ve done different.” Grandpa’s grandchildren were the first vehicles of grace in his life. They got him thinking about how he can change for the better.

The moment that marks enlightenment however, is the scene where Grandpa is sitting with Mr. Fordlyson on the park bench. Fordlyson does not hold anything back in their conversation. He “tells it like it is” and gives Grandpa some much needed advice. Grandpa is worried about his grandkids and does not know what to do. Fordlyson tells him to join the Methodists, take the kids to church every Sunday, and the keep them with him as much as he can. He then goes on to say the most important lines of the story. He tells Grandpa to clean up his yard. Grandpa’s back yard was a mess. It had car engines, lawn mowers, a dirty and unkempt welding shop, and many thing that are dangerous for small children to be playing with. His half finished engines and forgotten welding projects reflect his lifestyle. All his life he never had the drive to finish what he started. When something got too hard he would quit and forget about it. For this reason, his daughters are the way they are. Armed with this newfound knowledge, Grandpa went back home and cleaned every bit of his yard. He even fixed up his house and painted the porch. He even promises Freddie that he would put up a tire swing for the kids to play on.

Grandpa’s moment of grace is more Thomistic than Augustinian. It is not a one-time blast of spiritual guidance. Instead, Grandpa slowly realizes his mistakes and through others around him he learns what he must do and why he must do it. Grandpa experiences Free Grace in its truest form and it saves him from the messy and disheveled life he had been following. And so, the story ends on a good note. Things seem to be on the right track for Grandpa and there may be hope for his four rascally grandkids yet.