There is the nuclear family and extended family. When a member of a family dies, these two lines of authority (the nuclear and the extended families) are usually involved in planning the burial. More often than not, there is always competition between them.

Each side wants to dominate. This usually leads to nasty burial quarrels. A burial was suspended some years ago because the brothers and sisters of the dead man refused to conform to the burial plans of the grown up children.

This is not how it should be.The nuclear and extended families need to bury previous grievances in order to successfully bury their dead family member. Both sides need to come together and unite to give their dead loved one his/her last honour on earth.

The grief of the loss should unite both sides.Make allowance for each other’s views and be patient with mistakes.It may not be easy at first, but make up your mind to be a peacemaker.

Families should know that periods of grief and periods of burials are periods the enemyuses to cause problems in families. Families should, therefore, pray more together at such periods. The role the deceased‘s children ought to play in their parent’s burial has always been controversial.

In a situation where the children are still young like in the case of a family, the father of the home died living his three children and a few months later, the mother also died, leaving the three young children as orphans. Since the children were young, (the eldest was about 14 y.