According to the story, Val had a good relationship with her husband. He died, that’s why she’s alone. I think this is just Val’s feminist views coming out.
There’s no “work” you can do to get to heaven. Jesus paid it all. We are saved by grace (unmerited favor), through faith in Jesus. If our faith is real, it comes out in how we live.
Why? The last noun that Elly said before “cast” was “foot”. Thus, “it” would refer to the foot, not the turkey.