At the funeral for my twin infants, the atmosphere felt heavy with lilies and unbearable pretenses. Two tiny white caskets rested at the front of the room, far too small for any parent to bear. My mother-in-law, Diane, stepped up to the podium. She pressed a lace handkerchief to eyes that weren’t actually wet, her voice trembling as if she were overcome with sorrow—until her expression sharpened when she looked straight at me. “Sometimes… God takes the innocent to protect them,” she announced, h