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Sometimes, it is hard to be thankful for the rain.

Rain has a funny way of always inviting itself to events that it didn’t receive an invitation to. No one puts rain down on the guest list for their wedding, rain is never offered a seat at the birthday party table, and no trick-or-treater wants to travel from door to door in search of candy with rain trailing close behind them.

You should have seen how devastated I was in high school when it rained on prom night and the weather threatened to send my hair into a frizz fest. You should listen to me yell in frustration when a thunderstorm knocks out the satellite during my favorite television show. You should see the look on my face when rain is pouring down so powerfully that I can’t make the trip from the car to the front door without getting soaked to the bone, umbrella or no umbrella.

Yes, it can sometimes be hard to be thankful for the rain. But even when it threatens to cancel your backyard barbecue or stall traffic on the commute home, it is important to give thanks to rainfall.

Lunenburg and its surrounding counties faced hardship early this fall due to extremely dry weather conditions. Our farmers and their fields suffered immensely from a lack of rainfall. The threat of wildfires due to dry grass skyrocketed this season, and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam even declared a statewide drought watch advisory in October to spread awareness of how dire the situation had become.

It is instances like this that remind me to say thank you to the rain, even if it does get in the way of my plans. Rain may be a pain in your side, but it is also life-giving. It is the rain that grows the fescue grass that feeds the cattle and provides our farmers with a living. It is rain that keeps the threat of wildfires down and helps to protect our forests and parks. It is rain that keeps our water supplies full.

The next time that you find yourself trapped in the car due to a heavy downpour or your weekend plans are rained out, try to find a moment to silently thank that always underappreciated rain. Think of the people around the world that are even more desperate for a drop of it. Remember that you and the people around you depend on that uninvited rainfall for an occasional party crashing.

Alexa Massey is a staff reporter for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. Her email address is Alexa.Massey@KVDispatch.com.