Reminders of the Soveriegn Grace of God

One of the things I really appreciate about Ecuador is the fact that we are constantly given reminders that we are not really the ones in control. So many simple freedoms we take for granted in the states can be so altered here that it takes you off guard at first, but then it is a beautiful reminder of proverbs 16:9, "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."
Take road work for example... a couple weeks ago they were working on a road that goes up the hill to our little neighborhood. They were repaving the road, so they blocked off the section they were working on... understandable. What we didn't quite get was how anyone was suppose to get in or out of our neighborhood. There was no warning, no information given that our neighborhood would be blocked off for a couple of hours. People would leave their houses and get sent back, leaving them to walk or go find a taxi.
Then this morning we had another great example... At 8:00 a.m. Matt went out to El Refugio (our camp about 30-45 min. outside the city) to meet with some interns. Road workers were laying some pipe in the dirt road to the camp, making it a little difficult to maneuver, but manageable. What Matt didn't know, and again there was absolutely no warning, was that in the course of the time that Matt met with the interns, the road workers had completely blocked off the road (digging a giant trench across it) making it impossible to pass. When Matt went to ask how long it would be till he could pass, they told him not until 5 p.m.
It is times like these that God reminds us that we take a lot of things for granted and it is really only through His constant gracious acts pouring out on us that we get anywhere in life.