The book is about a little girl'sa search for the meaning of God. Along the way she learns how one person truly can change the world.

The whole world laughing at once

By Rob Albani

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Rob Albani
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-7947-2

Chapter One

Growing Up

For as long as she could remember, Alice would stare out of her window. She could see the blue sky, the brilliant sun, and the many types of clouds - how wonderful! And when her eyes shifted lower, Alice could make out the tops of many other buildings. Her mom told her that they lived in a big city with many other people who lived in those buildings.

Today was the same as any other day, except for one very important fact: Alice was now tall enough to peer over the window ledge and see all the way down into the street.

"So many people. So many different faces!" Alice thought. From that moment on, Alice wanted only one thing; to go down to the street and visit everyone.

Shopping Trip

"Elevator, what's an elevator, Mom?" said Alice.

"It is a small room that takes people to the top of a building and back down again," Mom said.

This was Alice's first trip in an elevator, and she was very excited. Of course, Alice had taken other trips but was too young to remember them. She was getting older now and remembering all sorts of things. Normally Mom had most of the family's needs delivered to their apartment. But today Alice and Mom were going out shopping, at Alice's insistence, of course. She wanted to get down to the street and see everyone!

Once the doors opened, there stood Alice smiling from ear to ear, partly because of the elevator ride, and partly because she was finally going outside to meet all the people.

What a great day!

Clouds and People

"How many different noises could there be?" wondered Alice. She was amazed there was such a variety to hear: cars whooshing by, trucks rumbling along, a policeman's whistle, a barking dog, and, of course, the people - so many voices! As she passed new groups not only did the languages change, but so did the faces and skin color. "How wonderful," thought Alice, "just like clouds, people come in so many shapes and sizes."

Alice asked Mom where all of the people had come from. Mom said that some folks grew up here while others moved into the city from somewhere else.

"No, not that way," Alice exclaimed, "before that."

Mom let go of her hand, knelt down beside her, and gazed lovingly at her as only a mother can do. "Why, we all come from God, Honey," Mom declared.

God?

"What a fantastic day!" Alice was thinking. "I took a ride in an elevator, I went on a shopping trip, and I even went outside to visit everyone." All these wonderful thoughts came flooding in, but one thought stood out more than the rest ... God.

"Mom mentioned God," Alice remembered. "But who is God? What is God? Can I meet God? Will God like me? Will God be my friend?"

Alice had just pulled her bedcovers up when Mom came in to kiss her goodnight. "Does God like me, Mom?" Alice asked.

"God loves you very much," cooed Mom.

"Does God love everybody?" asked Alice. "All the different people in the world, Mom?"

"Every last one," replied Mom.

"I love God, Mom, and you too!" said Alice.

"Sweet dreams, Honey, I love you too," whispered Mom.

Remembering God

Alice loved the shopping trips so much, Mom cancelled most of the home deliveries so she and Alice could spend more time on trips together. Stopped at a crosswalk one day, Alice looked up at an elderly gentleman and exclaimed, "God loves you!"

The man chuckled and said, "I sure hope so, darling."

When they finished crossing the street, Alice asked Mom why the man seemed unsure whether or not God loved him.

"Well," said Mom, "not everyone believes in God."

"But Mom," exclaimed Alice, "you said God made everything, everybody. How can that man not believe?"

"Well," started Mom, "some folks forget that God created everything. They get so busy with work or their families, they forget that important fact."

"Maybe," muttered Alice, "but just talking about God made that man laugh."

Cupcake

Alice had always loved animals, and today Mom brought home a huge surprise - a new puppy! She was a Teacup Yorkey and Alice fell in love with her immediately. Cupcakes are one of Alice's favorite foods, and without hesitation she stated that "Cupcake" would be the perfect name for the newest family member. Mom agreed.

Cupcake followed Alice everywhere and even slept with her at night. During the day, Alice and Cupcake would take turns chasing each other around the apartment with Alice giggling the whole time. They played together so much that Alice nearly forgot about the shopping trips - nearly, that is.

One night when Mom was tucking Alice and Cupcake into bed, Alice remembered the elderly man and their conversation.

"Mom," asked Alice, "how can we get people to remember God? I think they would all laugh like that man if they did. In fact," continued Alice, "wouldn't it be great if everyone remembered God at the same time? The whole world would be laughing at once!" exclaimed Alice, with a huge grin across her face.

Mom returned her smile and said, "You know, Honey, that's a wonderful idea. That would change the world."

Tell the World

Alice's love for Cupcake grew ever stronger as the weeks passed. One day she said, "I love Cupcake so much, Mom. That's how God loves us, I just know it."

"You're absolutely right," said Mom.

"So how are we going to do it?" Alice blurted out, before she knew what she was saying.

"Do what?" Mom responded.

"Get everyone to remember God at once," said Alice.

"Actually, I find myself thinking about that idea of yours quite often, Honey," Mom said.

"So?" questioned Alice.

"Do you really want to do it?" asked Mom.

"Yes! Yes! Mom, can we do it?!" screamed Alice.

"Well, it's a big job to reach everyone in the whole wide world at once," said Mom, "but I'd love to do it with you. We'll need some help. But first we have to decide when we want this to happen. We have to give the news enough time to spread around the whole world before the magical day."

"Oh," said Alice.

"That's okay, Honey, not to worry. There are plenty of ways to spread news around the world these days. It shouldn't take too long for everyone to be ready. We just need to determine a date in the future and then make it happen, with a little help from God, of course. Okay?" Alice beamed as she held Cupcake and nodded yes.

The Plan

Mom and Alice decided that one month was more than enough time to make the whole world aware of their plan. Since it was the last day of May, that meant June 30th was "God Day."

But where to start? How do you get the whole world involved with a single idea? It didn't matter to Alice how they did it. She just knew it was going to happen, and boy, was she excited! Mom thought the best place to start was the local newspaper, so off they went.

The reporter smiled when they explained their idea, but wasn't interested in putting it in the paper. Alice's enthusiasm immediately faded, but Mom consoled her.

"Don't worry, Honey, sometimes you have to work a little harder to get something done, but that doesn't mean we give up, right?"

"Yeah!" said Alice. Her smile reappeared as she hugged Mom.

Next they tried the local TV station, but were told the same thing.

This time Alice said, "I guess we just...