Fidelia's Sisters: An online publication by, for, and about young clergy women, published by The Young Clergy Women Project.

Yeah, that can be read both as an exclamation of frustration, and as the answer to those questions above. Those meanings are equally true.

In seminary, they tell you many things.

They say that you will be tempted.

They say it is normal to doubt, both yourself and God.

And they stress how important it is, because of temptation and doubt, to talk to a spiritual director or a confessor or someone like that.

All this is true. And all this is, unfortunately, stupidly, irresponsibly forgotten when all is fine. At least it was by me.

I am not all people. I am not even just like every other young clergy woman. But I am sure there are others like me out there.

Life just goes on. Doing my thing, doing it well even. Talking to church members who are having problems in their marriages, officiating at funeral services, copying mounds of papers, meeting with co-workers...and it is all good. But somehow there is no room in all of this for thinking about the doubts and the temptations, and no time, or so I justified it to myself, to find a good spiritual director.

So when it hit me, it hit me hard.

Because temptation does not let itself be dealt with like the other things. It will not allow me to procrastinate. No chance to think ”I will deal with that on Monday”. It just hits. And I was floored.

Now, I know you are worried. Don't be. It all turned out good. Different than I thought, but good. I had the great fortune of having good, close (clergy) friends, who were there for me, provided me with sound advice, made disapproving and encouraging sounds, prayed for, and with me... They were my confessors, my spiritual directors, and without them I do not know where I would be.

But I tell you – heed the seminary advice. Get your go-to-guy or gal. Dealing with temptation and doubt actually makes you a better pastor or priest, providing you do it right of course (whatever that means). Not only does it make you more aware, it gives you a necessary sense of humility (or at least it gave me that, and I needed it). Do not seek it, but when it comes, you will be helped by having gotten the help you need before you even needed it.

And always count on God. The solution to your problem might not be what you expected, but you didn't enter the God-path looking for the familiar, did you?

Rev. Maria Bergius Krämer lives in southern Sweden, and serves a medium sized Church of Sweden parish. She went to seminary in Lund, and was ordained on January 9, 2000. Her spare time is spent with her family and friends. Whenever she can tear herself away from the computer, that is.