wedding bells and more debt

Getting married soon means my man's debt is soon to be my own. When I last asked how much he has, it was 40K. It's been at 40K for a year now so I'm not sure what's going on and haven't been privy to finding out what the real balance is. It's going to feel so defeating to have debt again after I tried so hard the first three and a half years after graduating to get rid of mine. I guess it's back to the drawing board. Here are some things I had to do when paying off my debt:

• Not get a smartphone despite how backwards that is for someone in professional services
• Not get cable
• Not buy or own a TV
• Didn't eat lunch out with coworkers
• Lived with my parents in my high school bedroom from age 22-26 (NOT an option when married)
• Bought a house for 26K

To say I created my own jail is an understatement. By the grace of God, it all God paid off, and he answered my prayers for a home that I could afford with the money I had. I lived happily debt free for about two years after paying off my debt and now I am going to be arriving at an oh-so-familiar place again. My future hubby rakes in about $16K a year. Not a big shovel.

In order to conquer this giant I have to come to terms with some important principles. Everything we have is a gift from God including our skills, talents, and past experiences. If we give God the glory, we don't have to be upset with where someone is in life. The conversations I was a part of, the school I enrolled in, my natural subjects of interest are all examples of what makes the foundation that helped me to do what I did. If I were raised by someone else's parents, or had a whole new personality, I may not have the will to create my personal jail in order to get out of debt. If I keep this mentality, then I don't have to get upset or frustrated at my future husband for where he is at today being the same age as me. God help me to remind myself of this fact and to have humility to never think that what I have done is of myself but only by the grace of God and the intangible gifts God gave me. And may he help us pay the next 40K off.