TWSC Series: JournHE to the AltHER – Meet Blossom Parkinson

“When God puts a desire in your heart, He’s going to fulfill it.” – Blossom Parkinson

For Blossom Parkinson, preparing for marriage has been about more than learning how to become a wife. It has meant learning to trust again, embracing who she is, and believing that she is enough.

“I desire to be a wife, I desire to have a husband, and I desire to have a family,” Blossom told The Weight She Carries. “And now I know that I’m enough as I am.”

Blossom is kind, creative, and someone who enjoys working with others. She is also an introvert who loves music, works with her church, and loves roller coasters.

But beneath the surface is a woman shaped by loss, vulnerability, faith, and growth.

Learning to Open Her Heart

Blossom was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Guyanese parents who later moved their family to Cincinnati, Ohio, when Blossom was four. At nine years old, she lost her mother to breast cancer.

“She was only 35 years old,” Blossom said. “Suddenly, I didn’t have a mom, and so I was a little bit lost in figuring out how to grow up and become a young lady.”

When her father remarried a few years later, Blossom found support in her stepmother, who had actually been her preschool teacher.

“I feel like that was completely by design. I’m so grateful to God for her.”

That early loss, however, was not the only experience that shaped how Blossom approached relationships. Something that happened when she was younger made her shy away from love.

“I just was afraid of opening up my heart and being exposed,” she said.

For years, Blossom struggled with vulnerability and had never been in a formal boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Eventually, she realized she needed help preparing for the kind of relationship she hoped to have.

“I wanted to really prepare myself to be a good wife,” Blossom said. “I wanted to get some help with how to navigate actually becoming a wife and a good partner for my future husband.”

Finding JournHE to the AltHER

Blossom learned about JournHE to the AltHER through a friend who had approached its founder, Cindel Pluviose, about mentorship.

The women eventually formed a group that met regularly for approximately six to nine months.

For Blossom, one of the most valuable parts of the experience was hearing directly from men about relationships and marriage. Previously, she’d relied on ideas from television and books to understand what men wanted.

“But when they actually came and spoke to us, it was something completely different,” she said.

The conversations challenged some of her assumptions and gave her a new understanding of what mattered in a relationship.

One lesson particularly stood out: Confidence.

“They’re looking for women that are confident,” Blossom said. “And that really stuck out to me because that’s something that I’ve struggled with.”

For her, confidence was connected to something deeper than appearance.

“Working on yourself and how you see yourself, your self-love, accepting love from God, learning to see yourself how He sees you—I feel like that will definitely take you a long way.”

I Am Enough as I Am

Blossom’s journey toward confidence has also meant confronting the ways she once viewed her appearance. She once struggled with her darker skin complexion and felt insecure about her features, believing she needed to hide from the world because she didn’t think she was good enough to attract the kind of person she wanted.

“As I matured and got older, I began to accept my skin tone and actually love it because this is me. I am uniquely me.”

That same lesson has become central to how she now approaches relationships. Asked what she knows today that she wishes she had known earlier, her answer is swift:

“I am enough as I am.”

Discovering the Power of Community

One of Blossom’s defining moments in the program came during a session on spirituality and emotional health.

A woman in the group was struggling, and instead of simply continuing with the planned material, the women stopped to pray for her.

For Blossom, that was monumental and cemented the sisterhood shared between the ladies.

“It was helpful to me to see someone else being vulnerable, and seeing that it was okay,” she says.

JournHE to the AltHER was the safe space Blossom and the other women needed. They were not alone in their struggles.

“We’re all walking this path called life,” she said. “The program helped me grow in not only building a relationship with my future husband, but also building a community.”

“It takes a village to raise a family, but you also need a village for yourself.”

Preparing While She Waits

Blossom’s advice to women who desire marriage is rooted in the same faith she is learning to live out herself.

“Don’t give up hope,” she said.

But hope, in her view, should be accompanied by preparation.

“In your single season, maximize it,” she said. “Take the time to really learn who you are. Learn to love yourself.”

She believes women can pursue their careers, travel, build community, and grow personally while also preparing for the marriage they desire.

“Prepare as if you are going to receive a husband,” she said.

Taking Another Leap of Faith

Marriage is not the only area where Blossom has chosen to step out in faith. At 34, she is a second-year dental student at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. She left her job and returned to school because she knew she wanted to become a dentist.

“I knew that I couldn’t stay at the job where I was, and I knew that I wanted to be a dentist,” she said.

The decision came with uncertainty, but she chose to move forward in faith.

“I’m really proud of myself for taking that leap of faith,” she said. “And I thank God every day that I’m able to pursue this career.”

For Blossom, that leap is another reminder that sometimes faith requires movement before the entire path is visible.

“When God puts a desire in your heart, He’s going to fulfill it.”

Blossom’s journey to the altar is still unfolding. She does not know when marriage will come, but she is no longer approaching the future from the same place of fear. She is learning to trust God and embrace the woman she is today.