Our pastor recently preached a Sunday morning sermon on marriage and the family. He prayed for “our marriages and families” at the end and then added the line, “and we also pray for those who are single.” He might just as well have said, “and Gary too”, since I was the only single person there!

I love the story of the prodigal son, the way his father ran towards him with open arms, ready to welcome him back after his years of wasted opportunity. And that’s exactly what God did for me four years ago, just before my 49th birthday - God welcomed me back into his family.

Some people who are single and/or attracted to the same sex find that physical touch is something they feel they lack. Therefore, feelings I began to have a few years ago took me somewhat by surprise. I became aware that I felt acutely untouched. I felt like I had a craving for physical intimacy.

Keith recalls feeling envious of girls during my childhood - prior to adolescence - and seeking to mimic their play and appearance; he would have preferred to be a girl rather than a boy. In this honest article, Keith describes his journey through several marriages and mental health battles to eventually finding peace in his identity as a Christian.

Although I have always been attracted to girls, I have never wanted a same-sex relationship. Choosing to be single used to seem like a ‘forced choice’ – and the loneliness and isolation that accompanied it were things that just had to be endured. Now, I see my singleness as a profound opportunity.

Two men of different ages (John, 67, and Charlie, 22) put questions to each other about what singleness has meant to their life and what it means to them now. John asks Charlie about his hopes for the future and shares how he has found contentment over the years.

Shame is the ever-present voice that tells you that you are unlovable, unworthy and inherently flawed. Jeanette writes in this article of how, in her early years, shame weighed upon her and left her feeling isolated. Later she came to see herself through Jesus' eyes and this liberated her from this most crushing of emotions.

Everyone in my immediate family was happily married by the age of 22. I am the black sheep. Your thirties is that time of life when everyone seems to be getting married and you seem to be waving goodbye to them all from your dusty shelf. What do I have to look forward to?

Choosing celibacy over same-sex relationships is a good thing according to the Bible. For me personally, choosing celibacy was like a bereavement. Saying "Bon voyage" to my sexual expression and identity, the hope of finding a long-term partner and physical intimacy. For a number of years, I couldn't help but experience this as a major loss.