Parable of the Hot Tomales

I've been thinking I should post this for some time now... I just keep putting it off.  But there are some good lessons in purchasing "Hot Tomales"...

Awhile back Vern and I went to a movie at one of the new theatres nearby (I won't say which, but it was in Farmington :)  ).  Now, all who know me, know I love Hot Tomales during a movie.  So the first thing I did was walk up to the counter girl and ask for a box of Hot Tomales.  Well, she informed me that she did not think they had any, but if they did, I could find them in one of the end stands around the lobby.  Then Vern asked for his Frozen Junior Mints and of course she happily trotted off to get them for him.  Well Vern and I both took a quick look for my Hot Tomales to no avail.  We noticed that the line to pay for our treats was quite long.. and it was nearly time for the movie to begin.  So I told Vern to stand in line while I took a more extensive look around.  Again... no Hot Tomales anywhere.  After several minutes of searching I looked over and noticed that Vern had already gone through the line and paid for his Junior mints and water.  I was beyond frustrated.  In fact I was "extremely" offended.  So much so that I stopped my search, and stomped over to Vern and got my ticket and well "angrily" went into the theater to watch my movie.  Of course I said nothing to Vern.  I sat down and leaned as far away from Vern as I could get.  And never said another word to Vern the rest of the night!!!! - Can I just say, this was a movie that I had wanted to see for a very long time (The Vow) but there was no way I was going to enjoy it because I did not have my Hot Tomales and Vern did have his Junior Mints.  Now in all fairness... Vern did offer me some of his Junior Mints.  Really???  That was just adding insult to injury!!!  Of course he would ask "repeatedly" ... What did I do?  (How dare he ask that... he should have known, so of course he got no answer from me and I just got more and more angry).  That was probably the longest movie ever!.
Afterwards, again Vern asked... "What did I do?".  Man, if you don't know, I'm sure not going to tell you.  So, as long as the movie was, the drive home was an eternity.  Oh, and bed... enough said!

The next morning, Vern and I went shopping at COSTCO.  And guess what!!!! Just sitting there in my path BIG as day, was the most gloriously HUMONGUS bag of HOT TOMALES - Hallelujah!!!!!  Smile.... 1000 times over.  Of course I bought them on the spot.  And I took them home and proceeded to eat them (pretty much by myself) over the next couple of weeks.  At which point I realized two very incredible lessons had been learned...
  Lesson #1.  Don't be offended so easily.  Most of the time the person who offended you, didn't even know what they did to offend you.  For all of you who are wondering what did Vern do.... he went through the line and paid for his own treat without me.  His response to me when I finally did tell him what he did was... "You told me to".  (yeah, I did...)
  Lesson #2.  Sometimes we should accept that the things we want most are NOT necessarily what are best for us.  I cannot count the number of times that I prayed for something from Heavenly Father (fervently and repeatedly) even after I knew that Heavenly Father did not want me to have that.  But I would keep praying and fighting to have what I wanted knowing it may not be the best thing for me.  Till in the end I got what I prayed for, and eventually realized that it was not what was best for me.  Hot Tomales most definitely were not best for me... but I insisted on having them.  Now, I am paying the price for that "stubborn" choice.  It is the same with my requests from Heavenly Father... He knows what is best and I should learn to accept His way.  Life will be much easier and I will be much happier if I listen to Him and don't murmer or "fight" to get my way.  The Hot Tomales were just a momentary pleasure that has created an long process of removing the added pounds.  While they tasted sweet at the time, the 5 extra pounds gained, have set me back to a long term "repentance / weight loss" path.  Was it worth it....?  Not really.  I was much happier and felt better when I was taking care of what I eat and working towards better health and weight loss.  The same is true of the blessings and trials from Heavenly Father.  Next time, I hope to be more like Nephi and less like Lamen and Lemuel when a choice is set before me.  (Maybe I'll remember the parable of the Hot Tomales).... :)