Joy Roxborough reflects on the Paramount+ TV series she believes carries a powerful spiritual challenge and explores how its message prompts us to reconsider our priorities, faith, and the way we choose to live each day.
Taylor Sheridan’s The Madison, set against the sweeping landscapes of Montana, drew me in immediately. The vast, open wilderness offers a striking contrast to the noise and pressure of city life, a place that feels, at least on the surface, like escape.
But escape is exactly what sits at the heart of the story.
The series follows the Clyburn family, whose lives are rooted in New York’s relentless pace, yet quietly pulled toward something slower, simpler, and more meaningful. Montana becomes more than a setting; it represents a different way of living, one that exposes the cost of ambition, success, and the choices we make about what truly matters.
READ MORE: My reaction to The Promised Land series surprised me, and now I want season 2
Very quickly, the tension between these two worlds emerges: busyness versus stillness, achievement versus presence, appearance versus reality. What does it mean to build a successful life if there is no one to share it with? And why do we so often find ourselves longing to escape the very lives we’ve worked so hard to create?
As the story unfolds, moments of grief and distance bring these questions into sharper focus.
As the story unfolds, moments of grief and distance bring these questions into sharper focus. We see how easily relationships can be neglected, not through cruelty, but through distraction, the everyday prioritising of work, status, or even our phones over the people right in front of us.
READ MORE: Bake Off winner Jasmine on praying in the tent
One scene is particularly striking: during a family meal, a character steps away to take a call, only to point out the irony that everyone else remains absorbed in their devices. It’s an uncomfortable mirror. How often are we physically present, yet somewhere else entirely?
In contrast, the Gospels show us a different way of living
In contrast, the Gospels show us a different way of living. Jesus consistently gave His full attention to those He encountered, whether it was the woman at the well, the man at the pool of Bethesda, or the grieving sisters at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35). He was never rushed, never distracted, always present.
READ MORE: TV show ‘Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace’ on God rescuing an abandoned baby
Life may not become less busy, but we can choose to be more present within it. When competing priorities threaten to overwhelm us, we can bring them before Jesus, trusting His words in John 16:33, that though we will face trouble, He has overcome the world. He meets us not beyond the chaos, but within it. As I watched the Clyburns navigate love, loss, and longing, I was reminded that both the beauty and the pain of this life are temporary. Like Montana in the story, they hint at something deeper a home not yet fully experienced.
And just as a place cannot truly be known from a distance, neither can the fullness of what God has prepared for us. One day, we will step into it completely whole, and finally home.
No comments yet